


The Soldier of Stars [1] - Band of Brothers

by wexhappyxfew



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: ALL IMPORTANT THINGS - Freeform, Alternate History, Band Of Brothers - Freeform, Comfort, Easy Company - Freeform, Emotions, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Love, Military, Nurses' Corps, Platonic friendships, Polish Character, SPARs, Safety, Searching for Happiness, Sisterhood, Slow Burn, WAC - Freeform, World War 2, World War II, book 1!!, frinedship, lover of the stars - Freeform, operation virago - Freeform, star lover - Freeform, there will be a sequel - ad astra per aspera :), to the stars through difficulty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 86
Words: 279,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25766047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wexhappyxfew/pseuds/wexhappyxfew
Summary: Hazel Parker of the WAC, Catherine McCown of SPARs and Elizabeth Elliot of the Cadet Nurses' Corps take part in Operation Virago which will send 250 women to the front lines to fight alongside men. The government, along with the War Department and direction from General Eisenhower decide this is a secret, covert operation that the public will be shielded from, to see how integrating women into war will work.Each of the 250 women come with their own ambitions of what they want from war and why they signed up in the first place to be apart of this program. They become split into each of the 5 branches with leverage from each of the branch commanders, and split into groups of 2, 3, or 4 women and are placed into their different respective branches.Hazel Parker, Catherine McCown and Elizabeth Elliot are placed into the 101st Airborne, the first 3 women to be apart of the Airborne. These 3 women become part of the 506th and are put under 2nd Battalion, in Easy Company. This Company, the men in it, and the friendships and ever-lasting bonds they recreate might just change their lives, forever.
Relationships: Brotherhood - Relationship, Friendship - Relationship, Sisterhood - Relationship
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

" WHY DO YOU LIKE THE STARS SO MUCH? YOU ALWAYS LOOK AT THEM. "

" STARS ARE ALWAYS THERE, EVEN WHEN LIGHT ISN'T. "

╳❘▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔❘╳

_the soldier of stars_

╳❘▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁❘╳  
  
  
  


easy company, of the 101st airborne, not only consists of some of america's fiercest paratroopers, but also 3 strong women that are willing to now risk everything for their country.

this is the story of a company from start to finish. how they come together as a unit, through the highs and lows, through their difficult and ongoing training, all the way up until the moment that they've prepared for this entire time.

once they hit that moment in their time, their story continues, painting a picture of what it was truly like to serve as a soldier in easy company.

______________________________

**HAZEL PARKER -** the sniper

**CATHERINE MCCOWN -** the rifleman

**ELIZABETH ELLIOT -** the combat medic

________________________________  
  
  


hi! hello! and welcome!

many of you might be coming from my other band of brothers' story _sunshine soldier,_ so hello again! if you aren't familiar with me or my previous story, then welcome to my new book and hello!! i hope that if you're interested you'll check out _sunshine soldier_ as well!

i started thinking of this idea a few months back, and enjoyed the concept of there being multiple strong, independent women in a story. i enjoyed charlotte's story in _sunshine soldier_ a lot, and all my readers from there did as well, but all good things must come to an end at some point. this story truly focuses on emotions, friendships, sisterhood, love, all important things that seem to be shed away with war, but here i want to make it show that they can be the things to save your life :)


	2. introduction

**_" Alternate History Based Genre "_ **

**_This story is a form of Historical Fiction in an Alternate History sense, just so you all understand! <3_ **

‣ 。☾ ⁎ 。

The year is 1942.

The world as been at war since September 1st, 1939, when the German Army, the Wehrmacht invaded Poland.

The United States of America opted to stay out of the war for as long as they possibly could, remaining neutral and fueling both sides of the war, seemingly, with supplies, continuing their trade market and keep up with their economy.

Then on December 7th, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Men were sent off to war, as they signed up at every depot in towns big and small across the United States to fight for their country, to fight for what they believed was right. They came from all different backgrounds, coming together for the same cause. To fight in the war of the world. Men, however, were not the only people to fight in this war.

Women, though behind the front lines, were accepted into various places where they could put their work to use. Women began working in factories, producing mass amounts of supplies for the soldiers fighting oversees and preparing for war.

However, women were not thought of to go to the front lines because of public opinion on the matter.

So, the government decided it was best to not let a soul know of what they had decided to do.

Each military branch of the United States contacted each organization, asking for women who would be willing to risk their lives on the front lines, fighting alongside men.

And nobody would know.

Not a soul of the American public would know. It would be covered up quickly.

Young women who were already in services for women at the time were the target. They were to tell their families that they were being trained in their respected branch alongside men for the greater cause, but no one else was supposed to know except their families.

The men they fought alongside would not be able to tell a soul that they were fighting with women. Or it could be punishable by death if they told anyone else outside of their company that they were fighting with a woman.

Women of all areas were contacted.

Women came from the WAC, WAVES, SPARs, and Nurses' Corps, as well as the American Red Cross, WASPs, OSS, and the Civil Air Patrol.

Women who had already been involved, flocked to be a part of this new idea.

But the acceptance rate was small.

Military leaders and the US political leaders knew that they couldn't let it get out of hand, they'd need a handful from each group spread throughout different Regiments, Divisions and Companies, fighting alongside men.

Quickly, women from all ranges were brought into the military, to train and then fight alongside men. Many of the women, were risking their lives for a taste of what the front lines were like, but military and political leaders alike were willing to risk it, because public opinion would not be involved. All documentation would be kept safe and not spread to the public.

The women weren't allowed to go out and participate in activities outside of camp and were told to remain in bounds of where they train.

It was risky in many ways, but it would become one of the most successful integrations of women into war in the 20th century.

‣ 。☾ ⁎ 。

 **NOTE** : _I know that many of these organizations were not created until 1942 and 1943, but since this is an Alternate History genre, I'm going with the idea that these organizations for women have been around since the start of the entire world war in 1939. The 3 women who I've picked to portray in this account of Historical Fiction and Alternate History come from 3 of these different organizations and that will be expressed throughout the story!_


	3. prologue

**JUNE 4TH, 1944**

**UPOTTERY AIRFIELD, GREAT BRITAIN**

The sun had nearly almost set on the night of June 4th. The air was warm, but not enough for the humidity to be pestering. The sky was a soft yellow color, with mixes or oranges and reds. Easy Company lay beneath the beautiful portrait. They sat awaiting the call, the call for the moment they had trained 2 years for by this point. 

The youngest member of the company walked through the entirety of the airfield, through the levels of the men, her eyes eagerly looking for someone. Someone that held a very important letter for her. She couldn't find that someone, but she hoped before the drop she'd manage to get her hands on that very important letter.

" Hey, Tiny!" she heard a voice call. She turned at the sound just as she noticed Tab walking toward her with a smile on his face. 

His helmet was slightly lopsided on his head, his hair poking out in multiple directions from underneath it, his face smeared with the face-paint provided to the paratroopers. A tiny smile crossed her face as she walked toward him, stepping cautiously overtop the people that sat in groups on the ground or stood in circles.

" Hi Tab." she said with a tiny smile. Tab noticed her immediate demeanor, which most of the men in the company could pick up on it at this point. It was reserved, and quiet, and the nervous tension radiating from her was extremely evident to him. 

" You ok?" he asked her, and she nodded her smile faltering. She glanced over at the duo of women sitting not to far from where she was at the moment.

" It's just a lot, you know? Everything." she said nodding, before looking back up at him. Tab nodded with a smile. 

" Yeah, but hey, you're one tough chick, Tiny, I'd be scared to come across you after the drop if I were them." Tab said quietly, glancing down at the ground before looking back up at her. She let out a tiny sound of air from her nose as a laugh and a smile fell on her lips again.

" I mean, come on, it's pretty badass what you do already. Those Krauts better be terrified." Tab said.

" Tab." she muttered, with a roll of her eyes.

" Tiny, they literally have no idea that we'll have someone with a freakin sniper dropping in. I say that it'll be a sweet surprise for them. Trust me." Tab said smiling.

Trust. 

That word was a big word for her. She's struggled with the idea of trusting someone all her life, but she was coming to terms with what that word meant to her.

" We'll see." she said beginning to turn away from him, before he caught her on the arm. 

" If I don't see you, be careful out there ok?" Tab said as she turned back to him. She nodded with a close lipped smile.

" Yeah, of course." she said, before turning away to head towards the rest of the girls. Tab watched her go with a similar nervous tension that the girl had arrived with. 

The girl walked back towards the girls, and when she arrived, the women noticed that similar nervous tension that bestowed the entire airfield of men now. 

The rifleman was a woman who sat with face paint covering her beautiful features, as her brown hair cascaded around her face and into the grease and oil she used to shine her Thompson. 

The combat medic laid back, also watching the sky, but her foot remained bouncing to a dreamy tune that seemed stuck in her head at the current moment. There was an opened letter that she seemed to have discarded, like she didn't want to have to look at it again. The two women looked up when the sniper made her way to them.

" Hey." the rifleman said as polished away at a tiny part of the Thompson, rubbing at the barrel of the gun with the grease.

" Hey." the sniper said before sitting down in the circle and pulling the sniper rifle into her hands, to continue her work on shining it up. The rifleman could sense a bit of nervous tension and sadness that surrounded the young girl. But it was the combat medic who spoke first. She picked up on anything.

" Find Vest yet? For the letter?" the combat medic had asked the sniper, sitting up with a small smile on her face.

" No, can't find him, but I'll get it eventually. Don't worry about it." the sniper said. The rifleman looked up at the mention of not worrying about it.

" Want me to find him?" the rifleman asked. 

" It's fine, I promise." the sniper said.

" Are you sure? You've been talking about this letter for a week. I'm not afraid to go rip him from yapping away with Joe or someone." the rifleman said. The sniper smiled at her but shook her head.

" I'll be fine, it'll turn up." the sniper said with a nod.

" It'll come," the combat medic said, " I had this thing show up." The combat medic held up her letter that she seemed to want to throw into the ocean. The sniper gave a sad, small smile. 

She leaned back, with a small sigh, and looked to the sky. She always looked at the sky when she felt a bit lost or helpless, like she couldn't do anything. It was like a blanket of safety, similar to the one she felt with her mother. But her mother wasn't here, but the sky was comforting enough. 

Later on, the 3 women would find out that the jump would be postponed until further notice, and they'd go in to watch a movie that was provided, but the sniper would still have 2 things in the back of her mind. The letter, and what Tab had mentioned to her. 

Trust. 

Trust always remained such a tethered rope in between things. It was as if it were a thin wire of rope, made out of the thinnest string imaginable, just barely attached, but still there. Trust was big word for her, and she felt would always be one.


	4. hazel parker

_" you are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are."_

_\- melissa etheridge_

***

Hazel Parker was a quiet girl, but mostly everyone knew that. Since her arrival in the Women's Army Corps in February of 1942, Hazel had met many other girls with similar ambitions of why they were here, fighting for a cause that only men were portrayed to fight. 

The women of the WAC were organized under the 6888th Central Postal Battalion and commanded by Major Charity Adams. 

Hazel wasn't sure what she was thinking when she signed up for the WAC. She was from the little town of Pigeon Forge in Tennessee. A tiny town with barely an ounce of action. Mostly everyone in the town knew of Hazel getting accepted into the Women's Army Corps. 

Something she used to always admire from the little town was how the mist of the morning would gently make its way across the trees, just as the sun rose. When the sun rose, the sky changed to a multitude of colors from blues to purples to reds and oranges and yellows. The mountains always represented the struggle she felt she always had to get through to get to some sort of peace. The hikes always lead her to the top, even through the obstacles that it took to reach the top. She could then just look up at the beautiful sky and get some sense of calmness that she was missing. She missed being home with her mother, Lena Parker. 

Lena Parker had been through quite a lot in her life, and the struggles of her daughter had been a rather tough time period, but she was a loving and caring mother who only wanted the best for her daughter. She was one of the reasons Hazel was here. 

Her father had been a hunter, working throughout the Blue Mountains. 

But now he was gone. 

Her father had left the home on Christmas when she was 9, when she hadn't known what was really going on with her father. He had left her mother and her alone, and now 9 years later, Christmas never really was the same afterwards. She remembered her father coming home drunk on Christmas, going off about the stock market and the Great Depression. About 4 years had passed since the occurrence of Black Tuesday, and their family was still struggling, so her father increasingly got drunk to forget about it as well as the family he had to help. It had been the talk of the small town for years after and now people still talked about it consistently because there was nothing else to talk about even though it was almost a decade ago. Now, with Roosevelt having brought America out of the Depression and into the Second World War, it had died down a bit, but there were times when it was brought up. 

It was part of the reason Hazel was doing what she was doing, to escape that town. 

Her mother had been the one to tell her to sign up for the WAC. Hazel knew how to fire a weapon, one with and without a scope and she could easily strip a weapon and build it up again. All things her father had taught her. But now he wasn't here. 

It had been her and her mother for years, so Lena sending off her daughter was something big, but in a time of war, she knew it was what her daughter needed to do. It was something where Hazel felt she could find women that related to her and what she wanted to do. 

Hazel had always felt so lost back home. She struggled with trusting people. Trust had always been an issue with her ever since her dad had left, but it was something she was learning to cope with. Her mother was one of the only people she really trusted herself to be with and talk to and she wasn't a huge fan of not entirely trusting others but she'd done it for so long it was habitual. Going into a form of military would hopefully help her, she felt. 

So soon enough Hazel was on the first train ride out to Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School in Iowa. When Hazel arrived she was fitted for uniforms, interviewed, assigned to a company and barracks and inoculated against disease. Hazel was a bit more on the quieter side compared to the other women she had been put into barracks with. 

Sure, they were friendly to her, they were all here for the same thing, but Hazel found it hard to make friends with them. But that was because her level of trust was never reached. All through training, the girls performed sprints and runs and jump tactics, as well as firing a weapon which wasn't allowed anywhere besides there. There were days and weeks filled with PT before lectures began and slowly filled up the schedule. 

She trained up until May 1942, where they then received induction and Haze was technically a Corporal, but in the WAC was called a Junior Leader. She carried a side arm almost all the time now, even though it wasn't for much use, but it was the best the women could've gotten at being close to some sort of weapon. 

Hazel had been sitting in her barracks in a group of women she had trained with when the word came. The US Military was looking for women to participate in training that would get them up to the front lines. Women from all walks of life would be accepted, but the thing that many women were surprised about was that it would be a secret, hidden from the public. 

All the girls in Hazel's barrack signed up, quickly rushing through applications to get them sent in quickly for examination. 

Hazel was one of the last to submit hers, she usually took up until the last minute to make sure got everything she wanted right on things. She was like that way on tests as well. She filled out all the information as she could and gave a vivid description of how she could attack a weapon on her part. 

It was in late May when the only letter delivered to her barrack came straight to her. Hazel opened it up, with all the women's eyes around her, eager to see what the letter had to say.

_Corporal Hazel Parker,_ _  
_

_We are pleased to inform you that you've been selected as a part of the program to send women to the front lines. As you know, this will not be seen in the eyes of the public and all of this will occur in secret. Even though, in the government's eyes this is rather controversial, some believe this will be a success while others believe it will be a failure. You are part of the lucky 250 women who have been selected to be taken to the front lines and to fight alongside men for the greater good. You will be sent to into the Airborne, attached to the United States Army. The Airborne is a new section of the military where you will drop behind enemy lines, parachuting in and hopefully creating diversion for lands troops to come in. Colonel Sink is the commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment attached to the 101st Airborne Division. You will be placed into 2nd Battalion, Easy Company. Your rank will remain as you are, a Corporal and from your detailed resume, you will enact yourself as a sniper or sharpshooter. You will train with the 250 women picked for this operation and then will be given further information after about where you will be stationed. The rules are that you do not tell anyone outside of your immediate family what you are doing and that you report straight to your sight of training. Fort Bragg in North Carolina will be your sight of training. Thank you for your interest in the program._

_Sincerely,_ _  
_

_The United States War Department_


	5. catherine mccown

_" the greatest power is often simple patience."_

_\- e. joseph cossmen_

***

Catherine McCown knew she had to get involved in the war after she watched her two oldest brothers, Jack and Clark, sign up for the war on December 8th, 1941. 

The United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve or SPARs, for another name, was the place for her. 

Catherine, led under Dorothy C. Stratton, was deployed to Oklahoma A&M University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. 

Catherine was from a large family, 6 children, and she lived in upstate New York on a large farm. Her father owned a summer home in Kentucky, right next to their grandparents, and had horses there that stayed in the stable with their grandparents race horses. 

Their grandparents had made it big, winning the Kentucky Derby back a few years previous in 1939, so now each year, when they raced a horse, the McCown's went down and watched. Catherine adored horses, she truly loved them especially when she would wake up early on her grandparents farm and be able to visit the horses and ride them and the cute stable boy would come down and the two would always talk together. 

Catherine had been unable to go this summer though and so had her brothers who were in the Marine Corps. 

Their father had been a Marine in the Great War, something he never openly talked about with his family. But their mother had to hold him back from even signing up again, a 45 year old man. 

Her family didn't expect Jack and Clark initially to sign up, and get pulled into the war, they'd always been wealthy and her dad could get them out of situations, but this they couldn't. It was war. It was even more surprising when Catherine signed up. But she was a fighter, and with the ability to fire, strip and handle a weapon, made her an easy target for SPARs. 

On the train to Oklahoma in January 1942, Catherine met a few other women who were on their way to the same destination in hopes of getting closer to the front lines of war. 

Her little sisters had been fearful of Catherine going off to war, but Catherine had promised them that the only way they would win this war would be in their military strength and that she needed to go, to do whatever she could. She'd always been a mother figure for them when her mother was at work and couldn't raise them when they were younger like the way she had raised Catherine, so the 3 younger sisters, Millie, Penny and Mallory, always looked up to Catherine. 

When Catherine arrived with the group of women she was with, she was 1 out of the 11,000 enlisted and she was proud of it. She had gone to her first 2 and 1/2 years of college, but when the opportunity presented himself Catherine left for SPARs.

Growing up, Catherine had always been the prominent leader figure through her schooling years, and she had developed great friendships from doing so. She felt it was almost like a sense of duty though to uphold a leader position because she knew if she were ever in that position, she'd want a leader. She was also valedictorian from her graduating class, and through her training with SPARs it helped greatly as she reached the top of her class there as well. 

Catherine was proud of herself, proud of what she had accomplished in her schooling years and outside of her schooling years, and she was someone unafraid to speak her voice and her opinion. If something was wrong, she said something, that's just the way she was.

Her grandmother had told her that'll get her in trouble one day, but she had brushed that off and told her that if anything it'll get her somewhere great one day. She merely smiled with a twinkle in her eye. 

The training wasn't difficult, but it was designed to weed out the weak and the strong. The did runs in the morning and PT training, and then map training and codes and radio. It was an entire variety of training that varied with each day. The training lasted until March before they had completed the required amount of time before they were commissioned into SPARs as the form of an officer or an enlisted member. 

Through April and May, the women in her barrack, the elite, stayed close to base, preparing for greater outcomes if there were any. 

And then those greater outcomes came. 

The US Military put out a notice that was allowing women to join the military in small bunches. It would be in secret, the public would not know of the idea and the women would be spread throughout the multiple branches. 

Catherine was eager to sign up and get herself closer to front lines, just like her brother. She wrote down all the specifications she felt she needed to convince the US military that even as a woman she was prepared to fight. A group of girls received letters back and Catherine was one of them. None of the women in her barrack had gotten it though so the group huddled around Catherine as she opened the letter and began reading.

_Sergeant Catherine McCown,_ _  
_

_We are pleased to inform you that you've been selected as a part of the program to send women to the front lines. As you know, this will not be seen in the eyes of the public and all of this will occur in secret. Even though, in the government's eyes this is rather controversial, some believe this will be a success while others believe it will be a failure. You are part of the lucky 250 women who have been selected to be taken to the front lines and to fight alongside men for the greater good. You will be sent to into the Airborne, attached to the United States Army. The Airborne is a new section of the military where you will drop behind enemy lines, parachuting in and hopefully creating diversion for lands troops to come in. Colonel Sink is the commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment attached to the 101st Airborne Division. You will be placed into 2nd Battalion, Easy Company. Your rank will remain as you are, a Sergeant and from your detailed resume, you will enact yourself as a rifleman._ _You will train with the 250 women picked for this operation and then will be given further information after about where you will be stationed._ _The rules are that you do not tell anyone outside of your immediate family what you are doing and that you report straight to your sight of training. Fort Bragg in North Carolina will be your sight of training. Thank you for your interest in the program._

_Sincerely,_

_The United States War Department_


	6. elizabeth elliot

_" only the gentle are ever really strong."_

_-james dean_

***

Elizabeth Elliot was a young woman who kept to herself, yet she was always there for anyone who needed her. So when the war broke out, the Nurses' Corps was exactly where she felt she needed to be to pursue that.

She had worked a day job at a local hospital in Grand Rapids and found great joy in being able to help others and make sure they were okay. She had lived from home, as she was going to Calvin University on days she didn't have work. Her fascination with the medical field had really come from her mother, who had been a nurse serving in the Great War at the time. Her mother now worked as a nurse at the hospital nearby that Elizabeth interned at.

And she was constantly there.

But Elizabeth was mainly there because she hoped of becoming a doctor one day, where she could save the lives of thousands. Her grandmother was the main reason she really wanted to join the war effort. She always said ever since they were kids, a simple phrase with a simple meaning to chase your dreams. Her grandmother was her rock in her life, and the two had been close ever since Elizabeth was a child.

But her grandmother had leukemia, a form of cancer, and was struggling a great deal with it.

Elizabeth was struggling too.

Their grandfather had died during the Great Depression from overworking and trying to support her and the house, so they took their grandmother in. Right after the outbreak of war for America, in 1941, their grandmother got cancer and had been struggling ever since. They did as much as they could for her, and made her as comfortable as possible, even if it meant, lying down for days on end for comfort. It was sad and painful to watch, and it hurt Elizabeth more, simply because she couldn't do anymore than what she was already doing. Elizabeth was determined to change that when she went to war.

Cancer was a scary thing right now, especially when it seemed there was no probable cure. There were talks of chemotherapy, something newly being developed for people with cancer, but her grandmother told the family that she was okay, she didn't need it and that it couldn't be reliable for being so new.

When Elizabeth signed up for the Nurses' Corps, she had given a full resume of what she had been doing since she graduated high and now was in college. When the Nurses' Corps was approved by President Roosevelt, Elizabeth was quick in signing up.

And she quickly received a letter confirming acceptance into the program about 2 weeks later.

By March 1942, she found herself on a train to one of the top schools for the program out in California. Her training would be a long haul, almost a year of training at that, but she knew it'd be worth it in the end.

However, that all changed in May 1942.

A message had been sent to all areas where women were incorporated into the war effort. Women from any organization could sign up to be part of the group that would get to serve on the front lines with the men. It would be done in secret, with no communication from the outside world on it and no public opinion on the matter. Only if the war turned out successful would the world know that women went to war to fight alongside men.

For now it was best kept secret.

So Elizabeth eagerly signed up and wrote down all her qualifications. Within a week, a bunch of girls in her barrack received letters saying they were accepted into the military. Elizabeth realized quickly though just how thinly spread out they would be.

_Nurse Elizabeth Elliot,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you've been selected as a part of the program to send women to the front lines. As you know, this will not be seen in the eyes of the public and all of this will occur in secret. Even though, in the government's eyes this is rather controversial, some believe this will be a success while others believe it will be a failure. You are part of the lucky 250 women who have been selected to be taken to the front lines and to fight alongside men for the greater good. You will be sent to into the Airborne, attached to the United States Army. The Airborne is a new section of the military where you will drop behind enemy lines, parachuting in and hopefully creating diversion for lands troops to come in. Colonel Sink is the commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment attached to the 101st Airborne Division. You will be placed into 2nd Battalion, Easy Company. Your rank will remain as you are, a Corporal and from your detailed resume, you will enact yourself as a combat medic. You will train with the 250 women picked for this operation and then will be given further information after about where you will be stationed. The rules are that you do not tell anyone outside of your immediate family what you are doing and that you report straight to your sight of training. Fort Bragg in North Carolina will be your sight of training. Thank you for your interest in the program._

_Sincerely,_

_The United States War Department_


	7. operation virago

" For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream."

\- _Vincent Van Gogh_

✰✰✰

They say that smaller stars always seem to shine brighter, even through all the darkness.

Hazel Parker had always admired those tiny stars, they were always brightest in the sky at night. She always watched the constellations, or the North Star, or tried to search for the Milky Way. She always watched the sky, even if it were the middle of the night.

The stars were always there.

Hazel glanced out the train window as it slowly pulled up to Fort Bragg. Fort Bragg was set in North Carolina, in the southern part of the state, where there were forests and trees for miles, and you could practically smell each ounce of fresh air that was given off. Hazel had visited North Carolina only a few times in her life.

She sat alone on the train. It was quiet, except for some chatter every so often, but Hazel didn't mind. She relished silence sometimes.

When the train pulled into the train station, Hazel slowly stood from her spot and grabbed her luggage, before slowly walking down the isle. There were many others on the train as well but they were going down to Florida most likely on their summer vacations.

Hazel had never had a summer vacation where she came from. You had to work in the summers to make sure you had a house by the end of it.

She got strange looks from some of the women on the train, since mostly everybody knew of the fact that Fort Bragg was a place where soldiers trained, that were men and most definitely not women. But Hazel just avoided their eyes and quietly moved off the train. She stepped onto the wooden station, her heart pounding rather harshly inside her rib cage, as her cheeks warmed quickly even though no one was around.

When she got the initial letter, she had been surprised. She didn't expect to get picked out of the group of WAC members she had been in barracks with.

She didn't know much else.

Were there going to be other women here?

Or would she be the only one?

Hazel didn't have a clue.

She didn't really know anything as she approached the Fort. She was to train with the rest of the other 250 women, and get the basic training she needed. They were going to be trained just as tough as the men from other branches, they were to be treated no different. Then after the women's initial training, they would head off to their stations, with the branches and groups they were initially assigned to. Hazel knew she was training to become a paratrooper, that is what was stated in the letter she had gotten.

But she knew nothing else.

She was hoping that whoever was in charge of the Fort when they got there, would at least give her some information.

Her brown hair was curled slightly by the women in her barrack back at the WAC but now it was turning into a rather frizzy mess. Hazel had long ago wiped off the makeup the women tried to put on her face. Hazel was never big on makeup nor was she big on curling her hair.

Growing up, she was more focused on making sure she got food in her stomach, not whether her hair was curled. Even though it wasn't the sorta thing to step out with not-done hair, Hazel just didn't have the money or time as a teenager.

She was always working multiple jobs so her mother, Lena Parker, a woman of Polish decent with a fun-loving way to her, never had to work late into the night for money. Hazel had always admired the strength her mother had even in dark times. Hazel wish she had found that strength.

Hazel's babcia, or her grandmother, Maja Moszkowski, had come over to the United States, from Poland, as a 23 year old woman, with ambitions of leaving her controlled country to find a new life. When she went through Ellis Island on her way to New York, her last name had been changed to Maloney, the story was that it sounded more American. So her babcia went on with her new life in America, and found her dziadek or grandfather Antoni Partkya, whose last name had been changed to Parker, as it was more Americanized, and they fell in love and had her mother.

They were both Polish immigrants, and her dziadek had some semblance of Jewish upbringing, but once he met Maja, he decidedly became Catholic and that's how they're children were raised and how they were to raise they're children after that.

Hazel had Polish and Jewish roots to her, but the Jewish side wasn't relevant to her family anymore. After news broke that Jewish people were being persecuted because of their religion, she remembered hearing her dziadek one day praying to God that he was sorry he didn't stay with his childhood religion, that he was sorry for everything that was happening to his people. Hazel had felt her heart break, seeing her dziadek that way.

Hazel also had English roots, from her father, but she wasn't about to start thinking about him again.

Hazel's slightly curly brown hair was pulled back in a half up, half down, with a few strands of hair around her face, framing her blue eyes and freckles on her cheeks. Hazel wore her WAC uniform, which consisted of her brown undershirt, coat, skirt, and her cap. Her cap however was tucked into the belt of the skirt she wore. It had nearly blown off once she got off the train.

Hazel walked over with her small bag of luggage towards the office in hopes of being able to be guided in the general direction she would need to be led to. The Commander she knew was Matthew Ridgway and supposedly the rumor was, he had approved of the women of the operation to train here, at Fort Bragg.

When Hazel slowly approached his office, a man sat at the front desk, slowly flipping through some paper work. He had neatly combed hair, that seemed golden and he had glasses that sat atop the bridge of his nose, and she saw an evident dimple in his cheek. He looked up when he noticed someone in front of him.

" Ah, Corporal Parker, right?" he asked her, nodding to the insignia on her arm.

" Yes, sir." she answered, spotting the Sergeant symbol on his own.

" Right, well follow me, the Commander was expecting you." he explained. Hazel nodded, slightly confused but hurriedly followed the Sergeant towards a door. She watched the Sergeant poke his head inside.

" Commander, sir? She's here." the Sergeant called.

" Send her in." a deep voice called. The Sergeant leaned back with a kind smile and nodded to her.

Hazel slowly stepped forward and pushed open the door to reveal a man sitting at his desk, in his uniform which adorned quite a few metals, with his gelled back dark brown hair and surprisingly a welcoming smile. Hazel also noticed two women sitting in chairs right in front of him.

One wore a SPARs uniform, hair curled, cap sitting atop her head, a smile on her face as she talked to the other girl, in a Cadet Nurses' Corps uniform, cap removed, blond hair curled, but it seemed natural as it flowed down her back, and her bright blue eyes seemed to twinkle with light.

" Corporal Parker, come have a seat." the Commander said. 

" Yes, sir." Hazel said as she approached him and took her seat in the chair next to the woman in the SPARs uniform. Hazel offered a smile and she smiled wider when the SPARs woman smiled back.

" Now, I'm sure you ladies are wondering why you are here, in Fort Bragg, but we've brought all 250 of the women we've accepted into the program here, where you will all be training together." the Commander explained, " I am Major General Matthew Ridgway, the Commander here at Fort Bragg, where we specialize in Special Forces and Airborne specialties. We now will also have a connection with Camp Athene, where you ladies will train." 

" You will have a 15 week training, consisting of exactly what many of the men you will serve with will be trained like. After your weeks of training, you will be split off into your specialties or your different branches for training, such as the Marines, Navy, Army, Coast Guard, and Air Force, which will be housed as well on this base. Understood?"

" Yes, sir." the 3 women answered. 

" The reason you 3 women are here now is because you are part of the elites we have picked of the women, where 20 women will be put into the Airborne. In this case, as you say on your letters, you 3 will be going into the 101st Airborne. 5 will go to the 82nd, 3 to the 11th, 5 to the 13th, and 4 to the 17th. But after the initial training ends you will be then put into new barracks with those women where you will train for your Jump Wings before you will then be sent to your stations and meet with the rest of the men that will be in your company. In this case, you ladies will be under the 101st in the 506th, under the direction of Colonel Sink, within 2nd Battalion in Easy Company. You will all be sticking together in that company. Understood?"

" Yes, sir." the women answered.

" Why aren't we training with the men, sir?" the SPARs woman asked.

" We had to make a few exceptions when coming up with this plan for the operation and one of them was training without the men. We feel at the moment it is too risky, and we can't risk this getting out to public ears." Ridgway explained to them, " The public will not know about this operation as you read in your acceptance letters and when you do tell your families, they can not tell a soul is that understood? This operation is covert and secret and is to be kept away from the public eye at all costs."

" Yes, sir." the 3 women answered. 

" If it's not successful, will people just never be told that women became more involved in the war?" the SPARs woman asked leaning forward.

" Well, it seems the government is divided over this topic in general, and they're working to cover it up the best they can, we are all hoping though that this remains a success so we can tell the public afterwards." Ridgway explained. The SPARs woman leaned back in her chair with a nod. 

" They oughta still be rightfully angry and upset at the end of this war if they do find out that women were taken to the front lines, it's how it's always been." the woman in the Cadet Nurses Corps uniform.

" Rightfully so, but one thing they'll have to respect is that the War Department and the government made those decisions." Ridgway explained.

" Our country was built upon the foundations of a revolution from a tyrannic government, sir," the SPARs woman said, " will these citizens still respect that? Or will they to revolt because of our gender?" Ridgway looked at the women.

" You 3 ladies, are just 3 out of 250 women, and those 250 women including you 3 have all been trained in the programs you come from. You're already ahead of even a bunch of the men we have here now. Decisions are made upon decisions. The decision was that sooner or later this was going to need to happen for the military." Ridgway explained to them. Hazel bit her lip. That was true, but it didn't mean they would be respected because of it. 

" Does this operation have a name, sir, among the higher ranking officials?" the SPARs woman asked.

" Yes it does, Sergeant," Ridgway said almost proudly that she had asked, " Operation Virago." 

" That's Latin." the SPARs woman said and Mingus nodded.

" Correct," Ridgway answered.

" It means a woman of heroic or exemplary qualities." the SPARs woman said. Ridgway nodded.

" Operation Virago was formed upon the idea that women could fight alongside men in uniform, and be just as heroic as them." Ridgway offered. 

" Not all leaders in each branch agreed on this, but General Eisenhower was head official for the entire funding of the program. He was the one that signed off and hand picked you all." Ridgway said. Hazel's eyes widened.

General Eisenhower?

They'd all heard things about him, but none of the women had ever seen him even in person.

And now he wanted them here?

To fight?

It was brilliant.

" If you ladies ever have any questions, you can ask your CO, your Senior NCO or your Lieutenants, they will always be open to answer questions as they have been briefed on this all already." the Commander explained, " All the women in the program have come in here before you and sat down in those chairs to discuss everything, but the Airborne has been a bit more intense to discuss because it is the newest addition to the Army." 

" Yes, sir." the group answered and Ridgway smiled.

" Well, I'll let you ladies get on your way then, you have a long, tough road ahead of you but it'll all be worth it. I hope the next time we speak you are all certified paratroopers." he said as he stood and the 3 women stood together. He shook each of their hands before leaning back.

" Now, I've been saying this to the other women as well, as just an advisor, but we have some of the toughest officers working in Camp Athene for you, which is a part of Operation Virago initially. It's going to be meant to feel as if you're being broken down over and over again, okay? But this training is meant to replicate or be even tougher than some of the other branches of military." he explained to them. The 3 women all nodded with smiles.

All the women in the program already had gone through some training, as well as holding a bit of a guard up when it came to harsh words that flew at their faces.

" Sergeant Sweeney?" the Commander called as the door of the office opened.

" Sir?" he asked.

" Please escort these 3 women to 2nd platoon of Virago." the Commander said with a smile.

" Yes, sir." Sweeney answered, saluting him and opening the door wide, as he pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose a bit, allowing the women to file out. When Sweeney shut the door, he turned to the 3 women.

" Right, well, let me grab my cover, and then I can take you to Camp Athene." he said and the women smiled. Hazel glanced at the other 2 women and they both offered smiles. They wanted to be here just like Hazel, and Hazel respected that greatly.

When they got out into the bright sunshine again, Hazel watched as Sweeney reached into his pocket and pushed some Raybands sunglasses, which Hazel had always thought were a 'cool' pair of sunglasses to own, over his normal glasses. He turned and looked towards the women.

" All women in Athene are getting these, sorta like that trademark thing." Sweeney said as he pulled out 3 other pairs and handed it to them. The SPARs woman took the glasses and passed the other 2 sets to Hazel and the Cadet.

" It gets bright out here." Sweeney said for an explanation, as the group continued forward through the rest of Fort Bragg.

" The 82nd trains right over there, with some of the Special Forces." Sweeney said as he pointed towards some barracks where a few men were around. 

" This here though is Camp Athene, they ain't allowing any of us guys in here, except your CO and Lieutenants. No distractions we've been told. It's gonna make you all cutting edge, sorta like the Amazon Warriors." Sweeney said, " That's the rumor."

" Rumor?" the Cadet asked.

" Yeah, sort of like Virago Angels we've been told, you know badass chicks and stuff." Sweeney said as he turned to them.

" I like the sound of that." the SPARs woman said.

" Yeah, we all do, just so you know. Bunch of the guys who first showed up here were complete dicks when they started on about women in the military. Don't know what happened to them, but now each and every one of them are under some spell, think you guys are like goddesses or Amazon Warriors. I won't be surprised that when you come out, all the men in your company are gonna respect the hell outta ya." Sweeney said, running a hand through his hair.

" I wouldn't get to ahead of yourself, but thanks for the confidence boost." the SPARs woman said and Hazel laughed. Sweeney offered a crooked smile.

" It's my pleasure, but I know you'll all do great. This is supposedly top-notch training." he told them. 

" Are you apart of the 82nd?" Hazel asked him. Sweeney nodded.

" Yep, started training about a month back, in July, moved through the ranks quickly and got moved to office duty on Wednesdays through Fridays, we've had women like you all pouring in endlessly this week. Training starts on Monday." he explained with a nod. They approached the gate and the three women turned to look towards Sweeney.

" Thank you for your help back there," the Cadet said with a smile. Sweeney smiled.

" If they let you outta here for PX bars on the weekend, then I can offer you drinks?" Sweeney suggested to them.

" That'd be nice," the SPARs woman said, " you know if we get let out." Sweeney cracked a smile and a chuckle.

" Right, right, well, off you ladies go. Hopefully in 15 weeks time, and after that paratrooper training we see each other again." he said with a smile. The 3 women smiled.

" See ya, Sweeney." the SPARs woman called as the 3 women stepped inside the camp. The Cadet gently shut the gate behind them and then stepped up to the other women's sides and looked at them with a smile.

" Amazon Warriors?" she said with a playful twinkle in her eyes. The other two laughed. 

" I don't know who came up with that, but I think it's rather brilliant, as Amazon Warriors were indeed a group of women who fought and died equally like men." the SPARs woman said. Hazel grinned.

" What are your names? Ridgway didn't say a word back there." the Cadet asked.

" Catherine McCown, I signed up from SPARs."

" Hazel Parker. I was in the WAC." 

" Elizabeth Elliot, Cadet Nurses' Corps." the Cadet said, " And I gotta say, Sweeney wasn't wrong about us badass chicks." The 3 of the women snickered together as they walked further into camp.

Hazel glanced towards the two women, and found an ounce of security within them, knowing that when training was over, they'd be moving onto the Airborne together, no matter what.

That was a nice sense of security to have.

" I'm kinda glad the public won't know about this, ya know?" Catherine said as she brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. 

" I completely agree." Elizabeth said with a small smile on her face, her face seeming to shine under the golden sun, " What's life without a little surprise?"


	8. captain thermes

" The distance between dreams and reality is called action."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

The women continued walking towards where rows of barracks were. The barracks were fairly large, but there had to be at least only 5 or 6 of them here. 

" Hey!" a voice called and the 3 women looked up and towards a woman who was standing near the entrance to a barrack.

" Are you three Parker, McCown and Elliot?" she asked.

" Yes ma'am." Catherine called back.

" Perfect," she said and checked a few marks off her list. The woman wore almost like a conductors hat, with something similar to a WAC uniform on, and a few medals adorning it as well, with her short hair curled back and a light shade of lipstick on. But she had a wide, toothy smile upon her face. The 3 women approached her.

" Howdy folks, I'm Sergeant Barbara Miller. I'm in 2nd platoon with you ladies, but I'm one of the NCOs of the Company." Barbara said with a friendly smile.

" It's nice to meet you." Catherine said holding out her hand toward her, " Catherine McCown." 

" Elizabeth Elliot." Elizabeth said shaking her hand.

" Hazel Parker." Hazel said with a gentle smile.

" Well it is lovely to meet you all, we almost have all the women of 2nd platoon shown up." she said, " But this here is Virago Company. Real original am I right?" The trio chuckled. 

" Captain Thermes wasn't exactly messing around when he said he's more focused on training than 'stupid names'." she said with a laugh, " He's a mean son-of-a-bitch, but his training's worth it. I had to study it before I enlisted here to help train."

" We're just happy to be here." Elizabeth said, " And we all want good training."

" Good," Barbara said with a smile, " you can head on in there and get your cots. We're running similarly to how the 82nd is being run, so no beds, nothing like those female branches. You're the 250 elite women and you're all being thrust into this as if you were one." Barbara explained, but she delivered it in a kind manner.

" Thank you, Sergeant." Lizzie said with a smile and Barbara smiled at her.

" I'm glad to help, head on in and try and meet some of the others." she said stepping back and pointing them through. The trio headed inside and immediately the women in 2nd platoon were looking towards them.

" You must be the Airborne women," a pretty blonde said stepping forward with an excited smile.

" Yep, we are." Catherine said with a smile.

" Ladies, it's the Airborne women!" the blonde called as the women looked towards the trio and swarmed over.

" We've heard all about the women going into the Airborne, how you're all going to be paratroopers." an Italian said stepping forward with bright eyes. Each woman in the room looked, bright, attentive and determined, with a passion filled drive inside them.

" I'm Patricia Yearicks, I came from WAVES." the blonde said looking at them.

" Lucia Perischoli, I came from the WAC." the Italian said with a caring, motherly smile.

" Me too." Hazel said with a smile.

" 'Eh! Fellow WAC member, told ya we were superior, Pat." Lucia said to the blonde.

" Stuff it, Luce," the blonde said then turned and smiled to the women, " We've gotten your beds laid out for you all." 

" Thank you," Elizabeth said as the 3 women filed into the cots that were near the entrance and all side by side. Pat and Lucia wandered over as a bunch of the other women dispersed back to their things.

" You met Sweeney yet?" Pat asked them.

" Oh, yes." Catherine said turning to them as she removed her exterior coat from the heat quickly, " Quite the character." Pat and Lucia laughed.

" Yep he is, he's been trying to get poor Frannie Brown for the past few days, but she won't budge. He wanders up to the gate when he escorts another woman in, asking for her. Tells him about how she's here to fight a war, not shack up with a guy." Lucia said.

" I respect that." Catherine said with a smile.

" Frannie!" Pat turned and called over her shoulder as a ginger haired woman walked over with a smile, and bright green eyes.

" Hey, you're those paratroopers right?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

" Soon-to-be." Hazel said with a smile as Frannie grinned.

" Amazing." Frannie said, " I swear I've been telling these girls that you Airborne women are gonna be the most badass out of all of us and I think I'm right." 

" We try." Elizabeth said with a playful smile.

" What are all your names?" Frannie asked. 

" Catherine McCown."

" Hazel Parker."

" Elizabeth Elliot." 

" See you already have cool names too, I swear what normal person would name their kid Frannie Brown?" Frannie asked, " Especially one with ginger hair."

" No, don't say that! I love your hair!" Elizabeth said as she ran a hand through hers, " This mop is just such a plain color." 

" Aren't you just a peach!" Frannie said as she glanced at her hair, " Gingers are truly the best."

" How many times are you gonna butter up that phrase to me?" Lucia asked with a grudge her way. 

" As much times as it takes to sink through that cold, stubborn skin." Frannie said patting her head as the group burst into laughs.

" Ladies!" a voice called and the group turned to see a man, with a Lieutenant symbol on his collar, with Barbara next to him. He was tall, with dirty-blonde almost golden hair, with crystal blue eyes and a prominent nose, with sharp cheek bones. 

" For those of you who are new, I am Lieutenant Louis Wilson, and I'll be your platoon commander. This here," Wilson pointed to another man by his side, a man about his height, but with brunette hair, and bright green eyes, and a Sergeant," is Sergeant Cole Loughty, and he will be your Senior NCO of Virago Company. Now this is 2nd platoon, and you'll have 2 NCOs in here, Sergeant Miller and Sergeant Fernsby." Sergeant Fernsby, was a tall, athletic looking brunette who had a smile upon her face, standing beside Barbara.

" Your CO, Captain William Thermes will be in shortly to address you all. All the women have arrived, and that means training will begin Monday. Understood?" Wilson asked. 

" Yes, sir." the group chorused out.

" Good, try and settle yourselves down, after Thermes comes in, we'll head over to mess. Get your ODs on." Wilson called.

" Yes, sir." the group chorused back. Wilson nodded with a smile before turning to his Senior NCO and the two Sergeant NCOs. Hazel turned from the group towards the other 5 women.

" It's best if you 3 get dressed now before we head towards the mess hall. They serve some nasty shit there." Lucia said leaning forward.

" Don't listen to her, it's only because they aren't serving bowls of pasta and sausage." Pat said as Lucia glared at her.

" Oh right and Miss Scottish, they don't exactly have haggis up there either do they." Lucia snapped. Hazel watched the two and cleared her throat.

" Are you two drafted into the same branch?" Hazel asked.

" Yep, proud front runners of the Marine Corps." Pat said wrapping an arm over Lucia's shoulder.

" Wow." Catherine said, " You hear about Guadalcanal?"

" Oh yeah, sounds like it wasn't going so well last we heard." Lucia said. Hazel smiled sadly. Pretty much everyone had heard. 

It was a mess, and there were so many allied members lost in the battle. Virtually everyone at home had been saddened by it when Hazel stopped at her mother's house for leave in June. Mrs Barry, her mother's friend, had recently lost her son, beforehand from a stray bullet on a patrol. Hazel felt bad. 

Hazel looked at the dog tags she had been given and looped it around her neck with her dziadek's Star of David he had given her back in February as she hopped on the train. She wore it everywhere. It was a reminder of him now that she was in training, it was a nice reminder to always have of him. 

She quickly changed from her uniform into fresh ODs and enjoyed the bit of stiffness she got from the new clothing. Catherine was busy changing beside her and Elizabeth the next bed over.

" Hey," Elizabeth said as she walked over between Catherine and Hazel's bed, pulling her OD coat on, " I just heard two girls talking, supposedly some 82nd guy tried to get over the fence to see what we were doing. Supposedly doesn't believe in all this tomfoolery." 

" If I was a guy, who got minimum wage and was now training to become a paratrooper and heard a bunch of chicks who didn't work, were also signed up to be paratroopers, I'd be pretty disbelieving too." Catherine said as Hazel huffed.

" You said it Catherine." Elizabeth said. Just then the door banged open and everyone froze, many snapping into attention. The trio followed from their positions. 

A man, with a tauntingly handsome and mysterious face entered the barracks, with cold, seemingly black eyes, and a thin-lipped grimace upon his lips as his wandering gaze washed over the women of 2nd platoon.

" Foot of your beds." he said quickly, his voice smooth like chocolate, but deep enough to be definitely terrifying. He had a scar just under his eye, the looks of a battle scar. 

Every woman quickly moved to the foot of their beds and stood in attention as the man moved down the center of the isle, his feet clicking against the wooden floor as an air of tension wrapped itself around the room.

" You all have been accepted into what is going to be considered one of the most elite and covert programs in the continental United Sates." the man said, " You have all signed up for this and are guaranteed as members of this elite 250 member program, Operation Virago." 

" Yes, sir." the group chorused as Hazel softly chanted afterwards. She was still catching onto the pace of this.

" And can someone tell me what virago means?" he asked stopping at the end of the isle and turning around to look down the 2 rows. No one moved.

" Anybody." he called. 

" Sir!" Catherine called, her voice loud from beside Hazel. The man slowly walked forward, past Hazel before stopping in front of Catherine and glaring down at her with a bitter gaze, a rather harsh one. Catherine didn't seem to flinch.

" Enlighten me, Sergeant...."

" McCown, sir." Catherine answered. 

" Sergeant McCown."

" Virago means a woman of exemplary and heroic qualities, that of Latin, sir." Catherine answered.

" Correct, Sergeant." the man said as he stepped back and paced down to the opposite end of the barracks.

" You are ALL Virago Company. And I expect you all, at each and every time you are to represent a part of this company to always use and show those exemplary and heroic qualities, is that understood?" the man called.

" Yes, sir!" the women called.

" As you all know, I am Captain William Thermes and I will be your CO for the next 15 weeks before each branch breaks off into their own respective training needed. If you are to become a Code Breaker for the Coast Guard, you will be allocated a certain training location and deployment area for doing so. If you are to become a paratrooper, you will observe further training before being deployed to your vantage point." Thermes said.

" Yes, sir!"

" I want you all to know that the 15 weeks of training you are all about to endure will be some of the toughest truths and realities you will have to face in the oncoming weeks." Thermes said walking back down the center, " But here, women and men are equal, you are all equal and you are all humans, expected of the same opportunities and capabilities. And if you are to become one the elites you will have to live up to that, even if it means running through the mud at night in full gear, as freezing cold water falls from the sky. You are all capable of greatness and success and I want you all to succeed in this war of the world." 

" Yes, sir!"

" Get yourselves ready, you'll be escorted to mess." Thermes said.

" Sir!" And with that the CO turned and walked out of the barracks. Each woman didn't drop their guard until Fernsby, moved towards the door and shut it before glancing at the women. The women dropped their guards. There would be a lot of things to learn about the discipline in this camp, but if what Thermes had said was true, Hazel would be risking to run through the rain, in full gear at night for it all. Pat walked over to the trio afterwards, in her ODs, blonde hair in a ponytail.

" Supposedly that's not even the worst of him, but I gotta give you credit, McCown, seemed to impress him a bit." Pat commented. 

" Bet it takes more than that." Catherine said with a shrug. Hazel glanced at Catherine. She seemed wise, just in the way she spoke. So Hazel walked beside her and Lizzie to mess that night.

" Are you in college?" Hazel asked her, as Lizzie peaked over." Yeah, I go to Cornell, but I halted my courses for SPARs and this. I'm hoping to get back after this war finishes and earn my degree." Catherine said.

" That's amazing." Hazel said with bright eyes. She always admired women that were independent and went to college without seemingly a care in the world of what was thought of them. Catherine seemed to be one of them.

" What about you?" Catherine asked. Hazel shook her head.

" I actually graduated high school early just to get into the WAC." Hazel explained.

" Really?" Elizabeth asked and Hazel nodded, " That's great!" Hazel smiled. Dinner at the mess hall was nice for Virago Company. There were 5 mess halls that served 50 people each, and they had the Lieutenants do patrols as the women ate. That was to secure that all the women ate their fill. Hazel respected that. 

The first night there, many of the women sat around exchanging cigarettes, reading books or magazines, writing letters or resting. It was a peaceful atmosphere and nobody seemed entirely too stressed, even though the women knew that would change quickly within the weekend. 

Suddenly, there was a siren that went off, a loud one. The noise was blaring and wailing and ringing in Hazel's ears. Hazel and the rest of the women jumped out of bed, as Barbara moved to the front.

" Get down and in between the beds!" she yelled her voice authoritative and booming. Hazel flipped in between her and Catherine's bed and put her hands to her head and squeezed her eyes shut. 

What was going on? 

The siren continued for another moment, before you could hear it click off. She heard some shuffling before she glanced towards the front and saw Barbara stand in the doorway.

" Sorry about that newcomers, Captain Thermes likes to pull that at night, practice sirens for air-raids things like that." she explained with a smile, " Lucky night I guess."

" It's already started." Catherine said as she glanced at Hazel and smirked. Hazel smiled back at her. 

The night was peaceful, there was a gentle breeze that blew in from a young woman's window, by the name of Rita Sallow. 

The weekends didn't really contain much of a break however, there were classes, based on what position you tried out for. Rifleman went to one room, medics another, mortar men one way, machine gunners were another, as well as heavy gunners. 

Hazel found herself herded with the rifleman, even though she had been informed by Barbara that she was to become some semblance of a sniper for the paratroopers, courtesy of her soon-to-be Colonel, Colonel Sink, per request. The classes were run by higher up officers from the 82nd Airborne, who had some free time to spend on the weekends. 

The classes were filled like it was college level almost, going over each and every weapon a woman in any branch could work with, or zipping through medical techniques, or the dissection of a mortar. They were intense classes and long ones, that reminded Hazel of her school days, but they were exactly what the women needed to speed their minds and get them set for Monday. 

When Monday arrived, it was a 5 o'clock wake up that shook the women from their much needed sleep after an exhausting weekend of classes. Hazel was at the foot of her bed, eyes wide awake, as Thermes came strolling down the center of the aisle again. They hadn't seen him all weekend, but Pat had told him that he seems to always show up at the right moments. Thermes looked even more cold and guarded as he strode down the isle like an animal stalking its prey. He finally reached the end of the isle, as the only noise was the static from the lights hanging above.

" At-tent-ion!" he yelled and everyone immediately stood at attention quickly, as Hazel's heart started racing. 

" Today, you will be starting your training!" he called, his voice booming over 2nd platoon.

" 1st and 3rd platoon have already awoken and will be waiting outside for our morning run. Is that understood?!" he yelled.

" Yes, sir!" the group yelled.

" PT gear!" he called, before walking straight down the isle and disappearing out of the barrack.

" PT gear now, ladies, don't just stand there or there will be extra push ups for you all!" Barbara yelled. Every woman scrambled turning back and pulling off their clothing to pull on their PT gear. Hazel struggled to get her arm through the hole but she did quickly before tying up her shoes and racing out of the barrack beside Elizabeth. Pat slowly eased up at her side.

" Supposedly he was an ex-Marine, it's why he does more of what their training style is than any other." she whispered in the quiet of the morning.

" Oh boy." Catherine said, " My dad's one of those and the exact same way." Pat snickered. Hazel offered an exhausted smile before the women were moved into platoons for running. Thermes appeared in his own PT gear similar to the women's.

" Each and every morning, we will be performing a 5 mile run. We will pass by the Noyo River and up Gibson's Cliff. After that you will repeat it a second time, that will be your run each morning! Understood!"

" Yes, sir!" the women chorused in the darkness.

" Try to keep how loud you breathe down, those 82nd boys aren't even awake yet!" Thermes chorused.

" Yes, sir!" the group yelled. 

" Let's move!" Thermes called and the women took off running. 

The run started out easy, on flat ground, through pebble streets of Camp Athene. Then Thermes led them onto a trail with enough space for the spread out platoons to fit down. It stayed relatively flat for about half a mile, before they came upon the edge of a river, running alongside it as the gentle tune of the water ran with life. 

Thermes then led them towards a rocky path to started quickly uphill, as the women hefted their legs and bodies up the literal cliff to reach the top before running at a steep incline to the official top. They raced around a tree before heading back down with Sergeant Loughty in the lead. 

Hazel's breathing rate was easy as she ran just like Catherine's beside her. Elizabeth had more ragged breathing but in all, it didn't seem to entirely affect her ability to run. If anything she would blow it off as seasonal allergies. 

They ran alongisde the river again, many of the women keeping up with the heavy strides they were all taking and Loughty's pace he had set. 

When they reached their starting point, Loughty turned and the group continued for round 2. Round 2 of the run, was worse. By this point, many people's legs were sore and weakening and everyone's breathing had become ragged, but there was some sorta passion and drive that fell over the 250 women that no one seemed willing to let go of. They all wanted to prove their worth here and prove their ability to do what a man could also do, to prove to Loughty and Thermes and Ridgway, that they were women and could do whatever a man had the capabilities of doing. It all ran through their minds as they finished up their 2nd lap of the hard course. 

As the women arrived at breakfast sweaty and worn out, Hazel couldn't help but chug a cup of water that Barbara had slid in front of her.

" Drink up ladies, you'll need hydration and nutrients throughout the day if you want to conquer these 15 weeks." she said with a gentle smile before turning away. They seemed to prioritize making sure you eat and drink your fill, and Hazel was fine with that, it seemed important to them here. Hazel glanced at Catherine who looked up from her meal. 

" 5 miles sure is some morning run." she commented.

" Thermes looked as if it were a morning stroll." Hazel said with a small smile.

" That's because it probably was." Elizabeth said with a small chuckle, and a genuine smile. Hazel glanced at her with a chuckle. How could she remain so positive after the hell of that? Hazel didn't question it. 

But she had met a few medics of the military in her time in the WAC, and they always seemed like the most gentle, parental people who were fairly positive, but if you messed with them, boy would you get some hell. Hazel wished she were positive like that. 

But she focused on caloric intake and water, she needed that to survive training. She needed this training though, it would get her to the war. It would let her fight in this world war. 

Immediately after breakfast, the women were escorted back to barracks for inspection checks, as they had been given the time to clean their bed area up nicely. Thermes and Lieutenant Wilson had done a thorough inspection, their eyes downcast, searching for anything to seemingly pick out of place. Thermes started berating one woman, a small brunette with big brown eyes, whose uniform wasn't hung up properly. When Thermes had finally backed down from her, she looked close to tears, with her cheeks bright red. Hazel watched her. But this was the reality of training, and everyone knew it. 

Ridgway was right, they'd be broken down over the tiniest things, but if they wanted to be elite, they had to accept the fact that something like that just doesn't happen over night.

The training was strenuous, the nights long and overwhelming as Thermes would keep them standing, as promised through downpours, standing idle in the rain as well, as the women became soaked. 

It was all a mental game. 

To be able to bear anything that happened in the middle of training. Hazel became close with Catherine and Elizabeth who had insisted Lizzie was easier to say, as well as Pat, Lucia and Frannie, and a few other women. Barbara was always hanging around as well as Laura Fernsby, the two nicest and most helpful women around. Cole Loughty was also surprisingly nice to be around when not berating any of the women for anything. 

Thermes was stoic and guarded and closed off, but plenty of times Lieutenant Wilson was a firm yet calming presence. He made sure 2nd platoon was always in good hands and that they performed to the highest standards they could, training late into the night, studying different parts of their unit they needed for weekend classes, or making sure everyone was hydrated and eating well and no one was sick. 

But everyone wanted to be there, for women's rights in war, to lead the first group of women through training to become one of the elites. Plenty of times within the first week, Hazel had been partnered with Catherine and Lizzie for many different forms of PT training, and the women had bonded over simple moments of pushing around a huge tire, or running together or making sure they completed the right amount of push-ups. 

They didn't always have much time to just sit and talk at night, it was very scheduled and usually everyone was too tired at night to try and even have conversations, so training, especially when partnered together was truly the time where they could bond together. 

They didn't leave base, but the women who were picked didn't care. 

They wanted to become those elite members of the military even as women. The men on the outside of Camp Athene were not that of Virago Company. The women in Camp Athene were Virago Company and each woman held that bit of pride inside them through the majority of training. 

Each weekend, they studied what they could, before they trained hard through the week, being reprimanded for each and everything. Hazel had Thermes yelling in her ear the other day for touching her face; she didn't touch her face after that. Thermes went after Lizzie for her crooked pillow. He always found something in everyone, forcing them to remember one each inspection each day. 

But it made them better. 

They all had to trust that. 


	9. the springfield rifle

" A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

_\- Albert Einstein_

✰✰✰

With each day, they were becoming more of a company of women who wanted to change the course of war and course of women involved. They were learning to work together as a unit and to function as a whole. Lieutenant Wilson approached Hazel one day as she sat on her bed alone reading. 

" Corporal Parker?" she heard a voice ask and she looked up at him.

" Sir." she said as she slowly stood and saluted him.

" You're training as an experimental sniper, correct?" Wilson asked her.

" Yes, sir." she said with a nod and Wilson smiled. 

" Great, follow me." he said and Hazel turned and grabbed her helmet before following Wilson out, giving the women some confused looks as she left. Catherine and Lizzie watched her go in confusion, but earnestly awaited her return. Maybe she was finally receiving the gun that was so long talked about for her. 

Hazel felt the wind knock out of her when the Sergeant who ran the weapon distribution, turned around with a huge rifle in his arms. Wilson had sent her to the depot, telling her that he would meet her at the rifle range. The Sergeant, under the name Goode, looked at her and then sighed.

" This here is the M1903A4 Springfield, formally the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903. It comes with a five-round magazine fed and it's a bolt-action rifle. You can an average of 10-15 rounds per minute and you can shoot up to 1,100 yards for effectiveness and 5,500 yard for your max. It can have a bayonet attachment on the front, but with you being considered a sniper at the moment, you're best bet will be a scope attachment, specially crafted. Now, usually the Marine Corps are the ones that use this weapon, but Sink got it approved for you. Now it is mighty close to the M1903A3, which is standard for the Marines, but what have you been firing with?" he asked her.

" The M-1." she answered.

" Right, well, this will benefit you more in the long run as a form of a sniper rifle. M1903A3's were made initially at the start, but transformed into M1903A4's for a form of a sniper rifle in your case. Now, the Army, we don't have traditional sniper rifle's, but by attaching this here scope, a Weaver Model 330C, will give you 2.75x telescopic sight. Now, you're really the first one in the Army to be using this sort of thing, but it's more of a test run to see how it works. It's not officially adopted yet, but it's the best we've got for your position and Sink, from the 506th, wants it to work in your favor." the Sergeant explained to her. 

" Yes, sir." she answered. The weapon was a brownish, tan colored weapon and the scope was attached on the Redfield mount, so it could be removed and attached again for cleaning by the looks of it. However, when the Sergeant threw it into her arms, it knocked the wind out of her as she struggled to hold it upright.

" You get used to that weight, now, Corporal." The Sergeant told her and she nodded. It was weird, unlike the M-1 at all, and the girth it was carried at, even though similar, had a very different sleekness to it. It was different from the other Springfield's she saw, this one designed for her capabilities. 

" Lieutenant Wilson's down there that'll show you how to use the weapon," the Sergeant told her as she looked up at him and nodded.

" Thank you, sir." she said and then headed down towards the shooting range, under the hot southern heat. She looked back to the weapon in her hands. She knew this weapon would be hers and hers only and she'd be the only one to use it. She needed to know how it worked and all the ins and outs. Because at the moment this weapon was the newest of its brand and not entirely reliable. 

Hazel went up to the field where she saw Lieutenant Wilson standing. Lieutenant Wilson stood looking up towards a few of the Blue Mountain tops that were visible from the shooting range, from under the brim of his helmet, keeping the heat from his head.

" Corporal Parker," he called out when he noticed the girl coming towards him the large weapon in her hands.

" Sir," she said as she approached and glanced down at the weapon. She put the weapon on her shoulder and then saluted him before he saluted back and she dropped it.

" You're probably wondering why today's the day I brought you out here, right?" he asked her.

" Yes, sir." she was very curious as to why.

" First version of the weapon you are using the M1903A4 was finally authorized for use and Captain Thermes was one of the top names on the list, courtesy of Colonel Sink of the 506th, who received the weapon for you. He knew of the importance it would eventually be to you." Wilson explained to her.

" Yes, sir."

" Do you know about the weapon?" Wilson asked her.

" No, sir, not about this weapon. My father used to hunt with his own weapon, more particularly with a scope to see better and it helped a lot." she explained.

" How'd you get here then?" he asked her. It wasn't condescending though, he seemed curious.

" I was a part of the WAC," she stated with a small nod, " But then I applied, for Operation Virago, and got accepted and placed into the training. Then I'm going to take my 5 jumps and earn my Jump Wings."

" Well, your training has been exceptional these past few weeks, you'll succeed." Wilson told her with a smile.

" Thank you, sir." she said with a small smile and Wilson grinned at her.

" So, wanna get to know this thing?" he asked her pointing to her weapon.

" Yes, sir." she answered.

" Did Sergeant Goode explain to you back there what the weapon was?" Wilson asked her.

" Yes, sir." she said.

" And I'm assuming, since you said you can shoot, that you are comfortable with that? With the amount of recoil?" he asked her.

" Yes, sir." she said, " My father's weapon had a good amount of recoil as well."

" Interesting, well, let me just show you the parts then and then we'll practice some shots." he explained and she nodded. He began explaining the different parts of the weapon to her such as where to put the magazine, where the rear sight assembly was, the trigger, the cut off, the safety lock, the bolt handle, the barrel, the stock. Everything. Hazel listened intently. She was someone that always listened because she had been there before where nobody ever listened to her, only her mother. 

Listening was important and sometimes not saying a word was most beneficial.

" Ok, Corporal, think you're ready to shoot it off, see how it works?" he asked her.

" Yes, sir." she said with a nod. The Lieutenant offered a smile, before turning and looking at the range.

" This here's the shooting range. You might only visit a few times because your main focus here is training, physically for this." he explained to her and she nodded. 

" Right, well, first, we're gonna move from standing, to crouched, to on an object, to the ground, various positions you should be familiar with." he told her. Hazel nodded; but it also peaked her interest about why he was being so patient and nice with her.

" Sir, I have a question." she asked him. Wilson looked at her from where he was pulling his weapon from his shoulder. 

" Why are you being so patient with me, sir?" she asked him softly, her voice wavering. This was a stretch, she knew the question was a stretch. Wilson smiled at her and then looked out at the range.

" Many guys weren't exactly happy about women joining the military in general, the idea, I'm sure you knew that," Wilson said to her, and she nodded, " I'm not like that. You're a human, you're a soldier, someone willing to fight. I don't think past that. Showed up my friends in the Army with it all when I applied to help train you all." Hazel smiled. And some leaders were like that. If you were a body and could shoot a gun they wanted you. 

" Yes, sir." she said with a nod.

" Right, so bring up your weapon, putting the butt into your shoulder." he told her. Hazel slowly lifted the weapon in her arms, and adjusted it into the dip in her shoulder between chest and shoulder bone. 

" Now, since you're a tiny thing, you'll have to work harder to make sure you have a better grip on the weapon than a regular M-1, which you've worked with for some time." he explained to her and she nodded.

" Place your left hand, positioned near the barrel of the gun, to hold it steady and your other hand, the right one, will be moving between trigger and the bolt handle. When your round is done, you move your hand up there to get those rounds out, they're dead. You take this," he showed her a round and then stuck it into where the spring would be pushed back to hold the magazine, " and you put it in there." She nodded. 

" Now, I know you've shot some weapons before, but that things got a nasty recoil, and if you don't control, your shoulder'll shoot back and you'll lose control and lose an eye." Hazel was not losing an eye. 

" You want a grounded stance, you want to be ridged almost, like you're touched in the shoulder and you won't move." he told her and she nodded.

" So now, look out there," she looked out towards the range toward a few targets not too far away. 

" You'll be looking through a scope, with magnified vision, unlike the others who are using M-1's or Thompsons with no scopes. You'll have to get use to the level of degrees you can change from, up to your magnified level of 2.75x your vision." he told her.

" Lay your cheek on the pad a bit, and get a good distance away from the scope that you can still look through, but not be uncomfortable for your eye to look through." he told her. Hazel gently rested her cheek against the pad of the weapon, and got a good look through the scope.

" Now the scope isn't waterproof, it gets foggy in the humidity, and sometimes it is hard to switch from different levels of scope depth, but once you work out the kinks and stuff it'll get easier to work with." Wilson explained. She could see a bit of fogginess around the circle of the end of the scope, but it was fairly warm, it made sense.

" Now, try lining up one of them targets down there." he said pointing out towards the middle target.

" Just pull the trigger when you feel ready, and remember the recoil effect." he said and she nodded. She got situated with the scope and the rifle, and slowly drew her hand close to the trigger. She squinted her left eye a bit, to get a clearer ounce of vision through the scope and when she was satisfied, she pulled the trigger. Wilson was right, she wasn't ready for the recoil, that shot her and her shoulder back a bit. 

And she'd missed the target. 

It was obvious as the shot went echoing off into the trees somewhere. She slowly lowered the weapon, grimacing at what she'd done and glanced at Wilson, who raised a brow looking out.

" Well, that sure is a start, Corporal." he told her, and she offered a small, shaky smile his way. She was going to need a lot of practice. She tried a few more times, finally hitting the edge of the target with her last few shots of the round she'd been provided. 

" It's going to take a bit to adjust, we had you with that M-1 for a bit, and that's just shot after shot, accuracy, with this, it's all about distance, perception, how far you gotta shoot, way the winds blowing. Bunch of things to take into account and it's a little annoying. But the weapon's so new to the class and in its first few stages, that I won't be surprised that you'll go through a few before you see some action." he told her. She wouldn't be surprised either with a weapon like this. Wilson went through being crouched shooting, as well as being on a sort of wooden stand shooting, having a bipod for support per say. Then he moved to ground tactics.

" Now the ground, will most likely be where you'll spend your time as a sniper, covered in things to hide you all that fun stuff. And it's where you have to remain most accurate." he told her and she nodded warily. 

" Now move to your chest," she moved to her chest, as positioned her right leg bent a bit, to hold her steady. Wilson kneeled next to her as she moved her weapon into position and even messed with the scopes a bit.

" See you're learning already, Corporal." he said with a smile.

" Yes, sir, I am, sir." she said, as she drew her hand back into a comfortable position.

" Now, let me just tell you, out in war, you won't be able to think through these basics steps, which position you find more comfortable, things like that. You'll slam onto your stomach, aim and fire, in 2 seconds, done. Through training, you'll be working separately on things like that to keep your speed up." he told her, and she looked up at him with a nod, " People may think a sharpshooter or a sniper, lie in wait for hours, but your quick, you're trained with your speed, all things a sniper should be akin to, and that's what you'll be taught." She nodded. 

" Try again here, for that same tiger, it'll be lower here, or seem like it because of your perception. You'll have to do this on the fly in combat, but practice here now to see how the adjustments will be." he told her and she nodded. She took a few rounds off, only hitting the outside rim of the target once or twice, but it felt nice to finally be with the gun she'd be using during combat.

" How do you know so much about the weapon, sir?" she asked him, as she sat back from the scope, sweating.

" My dad builds weapon, it's what his father did and now he does. I went past that and joined up for the war effort, he always talked about crafting the M1903, and how it then got variations and this one was similar. So when it came in on a shipment, I made sure I understood the ins and outs of it before giving it to someone else. I knew that if I understood the basics, it'd be easier for you." he told her.

" Thank you, sir." she said, and he nodded with a smile towards her.

" I want to try and stance with you, from just the regular ones, if you find yourself pushed up against a wall or corner and have to find a way out." he told her and she nodded. 

" So, sit up, and pull on knee to your chest and the other, bent like your sit in a criss-cross position." he told her. Hazel did that, as Wilson positioned her shoulders perpendicular to the course, facing 90 degrees the opposite direction from the target.

" Now, bring your arms up, and cross them over your chest. This might be trickier to get down, but it is an easy way of shooting your weapon if you have to sit back." he told her. She brought her arms up over her chest, and Wilson slowly put the weapon in her arms. The barrel of the gun sat on the forearm of her left arm, as her right hand stayed where it was near the trigger and bolt handle. 

" It's basically like your own personal bipod if one isn't available." he told her and she nodded. It was an interesting position, but she like the fact, that she could use it if she didn't have a bipod. It was pretty easy, especially for her tiny body, it helped with holding the weapon up.

" It's easy to hold up the weapon that way," she told him and he nodded.

" That's the intended purpose and especially with someone as tiny as you." he told her as she nodded.

" How about you take a few more practice shots, at least trying in this position." he told her. Hazel, slowly adjusted the weapon, and did her best with holding up the rifle straight, but she knew that would take some time to do. Hazel leaned her head against the pad and squinted her eye a bit, to get a good view on the target. She took a few shots and they went completely wonky, which she had expected, but by the end she had gotten a few shots closer to the target than at the beginning. 

By that time, a few hours had passed when all was said and done and Hazel had put the safety on the weapon and made sure the scope was clicked into place. Wilson slowly crouched by her side as she adjusted the weapon and pointed to the underside of the weapon.

" Take a look at the brand." he told her. She looked up at him confused but he nodded.

" R?" she asked him.

" It's a Remington model; they are thinking that by early 1943, you'll be able to be provided with a more upgraded version of the weapon made by Remington." he told her. She nodded and looked at the R carved into her model. 

" You won't be having a spotter like a traditional sniper team because you're not a traditional sniper, Thermes wanted me to remind you and tell you that." he told her. She nodded.

" He must trust me enough for that." she said quietly. Wilson smiled.

" He does." Moore said with a smile. 

" Thank you, sir, for all your help with this." she said, looking at the rifle again and its brown finish.

" 'Course, Corporal." he told her and gently patted your shoulder, " Head back down to camp." 

" Thank you, sir." she said and then turned and walked away, looking at the rifle now with more admiration. Hazel looked at the weapon with wide eyes, this was the weapon. The one she would be shooting in war, or at least a new variant as Wilson promised. 

The Springfield rifle. 


	10. training

" When life gets hard, don't wish it to be easier, decide to be stronger."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

When Hazel arrived back in the barracks with the new weapon, automatically all eyes were looking towards her. 

" Is that the new one?" Catherine asked immediately standing up with wide eyes, admiring the weapon.

" Yep." Hazel said as she slowly sat down on Catherine's bed and adjusted the weapon in her lap. Catherine sat beside her as she felt Lizzie move in on her other side. Catherine looked at it as Pat came over with a cigarette in her lips.

" Shit, Hazel, that the new on?" she asked, and Hazel looked up nodding.

" Whoa." Lucia said. 

" Thermes was the one to get it for me, at least that's what Wilson said." Hazel said softly, her eyes looking over the entire weapon.

" Thermes?" Lizzie asked. Hazel nodded.

" I was just as surprised when Wilson said so." Hazel said.

" Thermes reminds me of my high school statistics teacher Dr. Henderson. The guy was nuts. Complete ass to my entire Statistics class, kids dropped out, forced themselves to be kicked out, all sorts of stuff. But he meant well. In the end, if I hadn't had his class I would've never been in that top spot. If it wasn't for him I would never been prepared for college. Sure, it was tough, the tests were horrible, and he made you stand in front of the class and show that you know how to solve a problem. But it helped me through. That's how I'm approaching this asshole." Catherine said gazing at the group of women surrounding the weapon. 

" Damn, really?" Pat said shaking her head, " You probably are better off than most."

" And that's why I'm here." Catherine said and Hazel smiled at her. Catherine was truly meant to be here. 

The following day after the morning run, which was slowly becoming easier which each torturing run and torment from Thermes, the first mail call came. The first since the women had been there. Laura and Barbara were the ones to deliver it to 2nd platoon with help from Loughty and soon everyone was able to read letters from their family members, which allowed a sense of security through the stressful week or training and classes, with virtually no days off.

_Dear Hazel,_ _  
_

_I hope you are doing well, I'm missing you a lot more than I have in the past summers. Picking those tomatoes isn't the same without you. I miss you so much, but I know you are doing a good thing and that they wanted you there and that's what I tell myself everyday. The sunrises have been beautiful, and I've started making my own tea in the morning. It's herbal tea, healing tea, you're favorite. I wish I could just send you a box of the tea but I know the Army wouldn't exactly be too fond of that._

_I miss our walks into town together, but Harry's been over a lot so we go to lunch together; he's like the son I never had. He always asks about you and wonders if you're ok. And he helps with fixing up our little home, or putting lights up or getting groceries. He's helped me with gardening the little walk way to the house, and there's these beautiful sunflowers and daises, I know they're your favorite so to remind me of you everyday, I'll soon be able to see them outside on the walk way._ _  
_

_I've decided to get a new dog. I know we had one when you were a kid, but she was old and died when you were young, but I know a dog will keep me company and protected at night. It will make me feel safer when you're not home. She's a golden retriever, she's a beautiful yellow/golden color, and I named her Daisy of course. She's only 3, but she was the first one that caught my eye at the shelter. I was surprised she was even there. But she sleeps by my side, goes on walks with me, we eat dinner together. We do everything together, and it's like a companion. I'll be so happy when you can meet her._

_I miss you so much, honey. I wish you and your friends well, I know this is the first letter I've written to you, but please tell your friends that i hope they are well. It's rough for families out there right now and they may not be able to afford the money to send a letter, so think of it as I'm a mother for them, dear. I miss you so much._ _  
_

_I love you!_

_Your mom, Lena Parker_

Hazel smiled. Daisy sounded like the cutest thing. And it was best for her mom, especially now. A dog like Daisy would be the perfect companion and ensure safety. She was glad her mother was doing ok as well, for Hazel's sake of being away from her. She sometimes looked out to the stars at night, whispering a few quiet words as if her mother could hear them. It calmed her. 

Throughout the next few days, it downpoured constantly, which meant even more fun for Thermes to have. The run was even more gruesome because as it rained there was also a mucky humidity that swarmed them. Hazel could no longer tell the difference between rain or sweat but she was focused more on the concept of getting up the cliff for the second time so that she could finish the course. She knew Thermes was just preparing them for better though. It all had intent and purpose. 

The night runs weren't ideal either, but the women strived with each mile they finished in the pitch black, when the stars were most radiant.

Thermes was there through every ounce of training however, and he, though an asshole sometimes, had intent with what he was doing and he always completed the course with the women he was training. 

And Hazel admired that. 

He could've amped up the asshole level to about 99% by watching them run, but he actually did all courses with them, all activities. He usually partnered with Wilson or 1st's Lieutenant Henry Moore or 3rd's Lieutenant Wayne Goldwin. But he always made sure that as he performed it everyone that followed, could as well. 

It was why everyone seemed to respect Thermes the way they did. 

It's the reason the Company worked as well as they did. 

As the weeks passed with training and classes, Hazel found herself become more mentally strong in ways many of them wouldn't expect. They were not allowed to leave camp, mostly because it was considered a distraction in Thermes book, but by now, none of the women cared. 

So what if they couldn't go out on weekends? 

They were here training, training for the war of the worlds, and training to show that their purpose was important within the face of fighting a war. They wanted to be the best, the most elite of groups. 

Many of the women were actually glad that their training focus on them and they didn't have the distraction of the men of the 82nd and of Special Forces. The women truly got to focus and hone in their skills and it surprised many of the women that they enjoyed that aspect. 

Thermes continued weekly air-raid siren drills, and supposedly it was 'just for the fun of it', which Catherine usually found rather hilarious.

Thermes regularly would do full mud crawls on the hottest days of the week, which were slowly turning to the coldest days of the week, and made the women perform in full uniform or basic PT gear. Then that required them to clean their ODS and weapons and shoes to basically spotless for inspection. 

Each week it had been increasingly easier there, and by the 7th week, the women were doing it with a speed unheard of. Thermes even seemed mildly impressed and he usually didn't change expressions, as Catherine had commented previously. 

The 250 women that were in training, remained 250 women, as none were willing to drop out of the grueling training that they had fought so hard to be a part of. They all had dignity and pride and knew that by now they were half-way through. Each one got them closer to their goal. 

Hazel lined up behind Margot Griswold, for the mud Army crawl. It was downpouring again and the humidity was muggy, nothing unusual by that point but it was the end of the September and absolutely disgusting to be outside in. 

Hazel hadn't even gotten into the mud before she was soaked head to toe in water. As Margot moved forward Hazel slowly slid into the muddy slosh and began crawling forward through it, blinking away mud particles and water from her eyes, as the barbed wire over top of them scratched at her skin. 

Thermes was patrolling the sides of the wired in mud pits, eyes like a hawk as he caught each and every person moving through the mud. As Hazel came out on the other side, she stood as the mud dripped down her legs, and the rain came down harder.

" Well, this sure is lovely." Catherine muttered as she came out beside Hazel, running a hand through her hair to rid it of mud.

" If anything, Thermes didn't berate us for touching the barbed wire this time." Hazel said with a soft smile.

" Got that right, Hazel." Catherine said squeezing her shoulder. The muddy troop of women obtained showers, and then were provided with more colorless Army food. Thermes however walked in front of the group at the front of the 2nd mess hall that Hazel, Catherine and Lizzie sat in.

" I just wanted to tell you that all of you women are over half way done this training and I've seen growths in each and every one of you. You're almost there, and I've never been more proud to have you 250 women in this Operation and be as successful as you have been." Thermes said. 

Hazel watched him look at the group with a gentle calmness that the women weren't sure he was capable of. It was a quick mention of the pride he had in them all but Hazel felt it was what they needed right now in this harsh part of the difficult training them were enduring. 

Within the coming weeks, it turned colder, and the mornings and evenings became darker quicker. But the training lengths remained the same and just as tough as they needed to be. 

One of Thermes favorite things to bring out were the 4 mile runs, that consisted of a multitude of 14 obstacles throughout the entirety of the course. Each obstacle was designed to be completed in a simple way, like a ladder across a bit of mud and making your way across, but usually someone always fell in. There were other things, like getting up 3 different sized walls, going up dirt cliffs to the top only to realize you have to climb up a rope to the rest and pull yourself over to sprint down the mountain. 

Hazel's personal favorite was the 80 pound jugs or water they had to carry across a tiny course, of stepping over logs or moving under huge logs with the 80 pound bag. 

It was truly a test of ability. 

There were a few women, who gave up on that part of the course and did a course of push-ups, sit-ups and jumping jacks as the rest of the women completed the course, but eventually the next time the course was put into action, those women performed to the highest standards and continued to do so afterwards as well. 

They wouldn't quit. 

It started to snow a lot, and their training became tougher, combating the snowy tundra that encased them. They began forming patrols through the snowy forests of Fort Bragg out late at night, or up bright and early in the morning, with specific missions and task sot take on. 

Hazel was set in a sniping position on most missions, but sometimes Barbara managed to convince Loughty to get her moving with the platoon and try close-range sniping in the case in war if they were to be surprised by such quick motions. 

There were times out on patrol, where they would be one or two women who would break for a moment, tears crawling down their face like realization hit them that they had gone through as much as they did, but then Fernsby would get in their face and toughen them up and Hazel would never see that woman cry again. 

But it worked and it was effective in the way they did it. 

It wasn't that they were forced to hide their emotions, but it was more putting the focus of the war in front of them and putting their emotions more of the side of things than letting the side of womanhood that was supposed to show be she shoved to the side as any soldier would do. 

But then at night, they found more time to talk and laugh and be girls again, it didn't dehumanize womanhood and that's why it was as bearable as it was. 

Hazel, personally, enjoyed night time patrols that were spent in the snow, crawling through the cover of darkness with the comforting vision of stars above them, as Catherine would lead their squad through the forest of North Carolina. 

Catherine was good at her job. 

She focused on each member of the squad she was in charge of from the medic, Lizzie to Hazel, the sniper to Lucia, a rifleman. Each person was important and Barbara was quick to realize how good Catherine was at getting members of a group to follow her and trust her with her motives. Hazel respected Catherine a lot, her and Lizzie had talked plenty of times about how well Catherine led a group of people, and how easy it was to get people to follow her. 

But Lizzie, Hazel felt, was equally as good. 

Lizzie was generally someone who would always check up on you, crack a tiny joke, with her silent smiles and then move on quietly. She had the funniest one-liners, but she grew angry if you didn't follow the rules instructed by her. But that's what made her so good at her job. Everyone respected the way she worked. You loved her even if she was yelling at you because then you knew you had messed up. 

As the weeks drew on, the nights getting colder and their training slowly approaching an end by the last week of November, Hazel found herself looking even more to the stars and their brightness, just as a comfort mechanism. She couldn't believe really that she was getting as close as she was to completing training and becoming even closer to reaching the statues of earning her wings. 

With the final week upon them, they proceeded to take their final exams of their classes on weapons studies, wrapping a wound, little things like that, that were assets in knowing their job importance in a platoon or a company. 

Thermes didn't back down with their final week of training doing full pack runs, for their 5 mile mornings in the freezing cold, mud crawls, practice of hand to hand combat, wall jumping, a favorite of his, and sometimes an obstacle course that was set nearby that was previously in use by special forces before Virago occurred. 

But everyone was so close to getting their medals by this point that they didn't care about the difficulty Thermes threw at them, they all wanted to earn their stripes, to earn a spot in Operation Virago and the military itself. It was like each person was shot up with adrenaline. 

Their intelligence had grown and so had their muscle mass and tone, and now their capabilities and specialties in certain areas were the highest ranking of even some records set by men of the 82nd or nearby Infantry Divisions. 

It was a proud moment for many of the women involved. 


	11. camp athene medals

" Every day is a new beginning. Take a deep breath, smile, and start again."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

When their final day of training arrived, it seemed everyone was ready for it to be over, all over it, the 5 mile run past the Noyo River and up Gibson's Cliff, the mud runs, the colorless food. Everyone was excited to get that graduation rank and then finally move to their specialties, especially that of the 20 women heading off to become part of the Airborne. 

Catherine was eagerly talking about it at lunch that day as Lizzie read off the flyer that the men they'd be training with after this had initially read in the first place. Hazel sat by quietly listening to them talk about it and such but Hazel was just excited about the fact they'd made it this far and were going to be graduating with high marks for 250 women. 

Operation Virago had been given their own uniforms, however similar to the ones of Army wear as Camp Athene was connected to Fort Bragg an Army Fort. 

Each woman had a camp with the symbol of Athena on it to represent Operation Virago, and their uniforms were a dark, deep brown almost like dark chocolate where they had sewn on their ranks to the side as well as the symbol on their arms of Virago, which was a few with silhouetted symbols that the rumors called by the men, the Amazon Warriors. They were skirts, with a bit lighter brown color of a belt, with dark brown Oxfords. 

As the women got ready on that Saturday in November, Hazel couldn't help but feel an ounce of pride swarm her stomach as she slowly adjusted her cap onto her head comfortably, looking in the mirror. 

She had made it. 

The large room the 250 women were in, in their 3 platoons, was large, with bright lights and pictures of past Commanders like that of Ridgway hanging on the walls as well as pictures of platoons and companies and of the Fort Bragg itself. Thermes stood, saluting Ridgway in front of him as Ridgway entered with a seemingly proud smile upon his face, Sergeant Sweeney at his side.

" Sir." Thermes said saluting Ridgway. 

" Captain Thermes." Ridgway said saluting the man with a proud smile upon his features. Ridgway dropped his salute and Thermes followed as he turned and walked with Thermes forward to where the 3 Lieutenants and Loughty were.

" Ladies." Ridgway called as silence filtered out of the room, his voice bouncing off of all the walls, " I am proud to be standing here now, looking at all 250 of you who made it through this training. I am proud to officially have been part of this Operation. Operation Virago. And I'm proud that you all took this training as seriously as you all did, for the greater good. You've all earned a spot in the United States military and you've all earned your ranks. This training wasn't easy, it was meant to break you and then build you back up again, before you continued. It was meant to make your brain truly think about your actions and keep you focused on your task. To train your mind to remember even the littlest things, keep distractions out of your line of sight and even remember that crooked pillow." Hazel felt her heart swell. 

" You've all marked your place on this world, as the first members of Operation Virago and women in the United States military." Ridgway said, " And you all deserve to continue on into your respective branches and complete the final parts of your specialty training. Yes, sir?"

" Yes, sir!" Ridgway smiled proudly.

" As you all know, this graduation will consist of finality within your ranks as a member of Virago Company, as well as the medal upon the breast of being a member of Camp Athene officially." Ridgway said and then nodded to Sweeney who brought out 2 plaques of 250 medals. Ridgway went around himself, giving every man and woman in that room a medal for being a part of this operation. It was a very special moment of this large facility. Everyone could feel it. As Ridgway stopped in front of Hazel with Sweeney at his side, holding out the Camp Athene medal, Hazel's heart swelled with pride and she couldn't keep the smile from her features as Ridgway smiled at her.

" Congratulations Corporal Parker." Ridgway said as she shook his hand.

" Thank you, sir." Hazel said and Ridgway smiled proudly at her. Hazel felt even more pride; it had been a fatherly look, something she'd been deprived of. She felt proud standing here right now. She needed that. 

That evening, with the thoughts of graduation and finality on their minds, the women were allowed to head out to the PX bar that remained in Fort Bragg. Barbara had given a warning, there would be men there, curious men, wondering about their training, a bunch of guys. They suspected so, the other parts of the 82nd were close to finishing their training at the current moment.

" It's been a hot minute since I had a drink." Catherine said as she ran a hand through her hair glancing at Lizzie and Hazel beside her side. 

" I can't drink." Hazel admitted with a tiny smile.

" You can take a sip of mine," Catherine offered, as Lizzie looked at Hazel with a grin.

" Or I'm pretty sure there will be some paratrooper up there waiting to buy you one." Lizzie said, and Catherine smirked.

" Yeah, right," Catherine said as the trio giggled together. 

The group arrived at the loud PX bar, which was booming with night life, as well as people pouring in and out, music and smells wafting from the sight. The trio headed inside, and looked around at the life inside. There were 82nd men and Special Forces swarming the place, as well as members from Virago.

" You two wanna grab a table?" Catherine said turning to the two, " I'll get drinks." 

" Sure, I'll just take a Coke, can't drink yet." Lizzie said with a smile.

" I'll take a Coke as well." Hazel said with a gentle smile and Catherine nodded.

" Great, I'll be back." Catherine said before wadding through the crowd. Hazel and Lizzie found a table, and sat down in relief amongst the chatter around them.

" I've been reading some of the articles about the training of the 101st." Lizzie said leaning forward in her chair and looking at Hazel.

" Really?" Hazel asked. Lizzie nodded with an innocent smile.

" It seems they've been training since August like us, but they're jumps are going to end up later on than ours will." Lizzie explained. 

" Still no word on when we'll finally be transferred to their unit?" Hazel asked her. Lizzie shook her head.

" No word, possibly within the next year I'm hoping, but I can't be so sure." Lizzie exclaimed, sighing. 

" Hey, you're part of those Viragos, right?" a voice asked and both Hazel and Lizzie looked up to see 4 men from the 82nd standing by the table, drinks in their hands.

" Yep." Lizzie said with a small smile, nodding her head. Hazel glanced up at them, not entirely too sure what to do or what they wanted.

" What's up?" Lizzie offered, a bit confused as well. 15 weeks of training, the last thing they wanted at the moment was being hit on, they just wanted a night to not be running through snow and mud.

" My friend here was wondering if he could buy you a drink, Little Miss." the main guy said patting his friend on the shoulder and looking at Hazel.

" My friend's already getting me one, but thank you." Hazel said with a soft smile.

" Cute." the guy said before turning to the man by his side, " Get her a drink, something strong." The man nodded before walking away. The main guy turned by.

" I don't drink, I'm not old enough yet." Hazel said defending herself a bit. The man laughed as Lizzie's eyes narrowed.

" Not old enough, honey you're in the military now, you're old enough for anything, even just a drink. Promise you'll like it." he said.

" She doesn't have to drink it. If anything, you've just wasted money." Lizzie said, a bit in her voice.

" Feisty." another man said walking over to Lizzie and sitting beside her. Lizzie just looked away.

" Ignore them, Hazel." Lizzie said softly, and shook her head as Hazel felt her cheeks heat up at the 4 men's stares.

" Come on, you've just trained for 15 weeks and you don't want to talk to a single guy?" the main guy asked.

" Yeah," Lizzie said, "and clearly you weren't a strong as you thought."

" What do you mean, darling?" 

" I mean, here you are, hitting on us, when we have no interest. We trained without the aid of any of you guys and we're still here not wanting it. And you still are pining after us. Clearly, you couldn't focus enough like us." Lizzie said defending the two of them. Hazel watched the man to her right staring at Lizzie. He seemed slightly speechless, like he wasn't expecting this.

" Hey," a voice said and the group looked up to see Catherine standing there with 3 drinks in her hands. 

" Let me help you." a 3rd guy said standing.

" I'm fine, thanks." Catherine said, retracting the drinks with a slightly disgusted expression. 

" What the hell's going on?" Catherine asked, her question directed towards Hazel and Lizzie who looked uncomfortable.

" We're just talking to your friends here, honey." the main guy said.

" I'm not talking to you." Catherine said. Hazel and Lizzie looked so uncomfortable around these men. They wanted nothing to do with them and it was obvious.

" A lady shouldn't curse," the main guy said, as the three women looked at him with suspicious expressions.

" And why's that?" Catherine asked him. The guy just laughed and shook her head as he stared at her.

" C'mon, we're moving tables." Catherine said as she handed the two girls their drinks and made them stand. 

" Where ya going? We were just getting settled." the main guy whined.

" To get away from your whiny ass." Catherine said before pointing Hazel and Lizzie away to another table.

" We survived 15 weeks of training, without seeing any of those guys, I could've gone a few weeks more." Catherine said.

" Sorry about that back there, Cath, guys are just sometimes..." Lizzie trailed off, cheeks red.

" Yeah, I get it, let's just go and sit with Barbara and Fernsby." Catherine said as Hazel glanced back over her shoulder with a sigh.

" Hey ladies." Fernsby said as the girls got near.

" You know what's my word of the day? Boundaries." Catherine said as she situated herself into a chair.

" Why's that?" Barbara asked.

" There's a few guys from the 82nd that were overbearing, offering drinks. It was a bit much." Lizzie said with a sigh.

" Well, you all trained for 15 weeks without men really, except for officers and you made it out perfectly fine. Who needs 'em?" Barbara said, sipping her beer. The girls all chuckled together.

" They're just boys, sometimes they need to grow up." Fernsby said shaking her head, " I've learned from my own experience. It was not pretty."

" What happened?" Hazel asked.

" Few of the guys from my hometown, back in San Diego, California, bunch of immature children, but one gave me my first kiss. I was young at the time, like 13 and I didn't know what was going on, so then he declared me his girlfriend." Fernsby said and Barbara glanced at her.

" He really thought that at 13?" she asked. Fernsby nodded.

" He never talked to me after that declaration, so now I don't virtually trust anyone." Fernsby said.

" You got a point though," Catherine said with a small shrug," you can't trust everyone."

Hazel listened quietly, and kept glancing around; she knew exactly what Catherine meant by that point. She never trusted anyone and if she did, it was after quite a long time of knowing each other. It usually always took a while. 

The following day, the women had to pack up their things, and start to get ready for moving day for their expanded training. Hazel, Catherine and Lizzie were moving to a smaller based barrack within where the 82nd was, for only about a week or two to do jump training and take their 5 jumps to graduate them to paratroopers officially.

" Well, I guess this is it ladies." Pat said as Hazel, Catherine and Lizzie stood facing her, Lucia and Frannie. Hazel smiled. 

" Go show those guys in the 506th what you 3 ladies are made of alright. You trained hard here, and made it. Always remember that." Pat told them.

" Thanks, Pat." Catherine said and Pat smiled.

" We're all doing a good thing, but always remember we are all connected back to Virago Company, always. You'll always have these 250 women behind ya.' Lucia said with a nod and a smile.

" Yeah, and we can always send letters, no matter where you all end up going with the Airborne. Whatever you do though, it'll make a difference." Frannie said, " We'll all make a difference." The women brought each other into warm hugs, holding each other close, before word came that they were to be moved. 

They would forever be connected by this shared experience together. The group of 20 women that were to be transported to their barrack, were led out of the gates of Camp Athene, with pride on their shoulders and smiles upon their faces as they did so. 

Lieutenant Wilson was the one to lead them to the gates of the 82nd where a man stood inside. Wilson turned to the group of women.

" I wish you luck ladies in the Airborne." Wilson said as he looked at the group of 20 women. 

" Thank you, sir." the women chorused out to him. He smiled. He let his arm guide them towards the gates as the women filed for but Hazel held back and looked towards the Lieutenant who had helped her greatly, especially with her weapon.

" Thank you, sir, for all the help you gave me." Hazel said with a small smile up towards him. Wilson smiled at her. 

" It was my duty, Corporal." Wilson said with a smile. Hazel saluted him, but instead Lieutenant Wilson held out his hand to shake hers. Hazel quirked a smile at him and then slowly shook his hand.

" Good luck out there Parker," he told her and she smiled with a nod, before stepping back and heading towards the gate where a man stood, to a new chapter of training.


	12. jump wings

" The best feeling in the world is watching things finally fall into place after watching them fall apart for so long." 

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Hazel slowly entered the gate, before the man shut it behind her.

" Alright! Ladies, listen up!" yelled the man that had been opening the gate, " I will be your jump master for your 5 jumps that will certify you as Army paratroopers, is that understood?"

" Yes, sir!"

" Good, we'll begin training after you've dropped your luggage off." he explained over his shoulder as he began leading the women through where the 82nd members were staying as well. The man lead them to a 20 man barrack.

" Please pick a place for your belongings and change into your ODs, we'll be practicing jump techniques for the time being." he said, " And I'm Captain McPeterson, and I'll be training you for the expansion on Operation Virago for the female paratroopers." Each woman filed into a bed and Hazel, Catherine and Lizzie managed to snag beds next to each other again. They all quickly changed into their ODs, from Lieutenant Wilson's quick and snappy wake up calls through basic. The 20 women filed out and were lined up in front of Captain McPeterson, who stood with his basic ODs on and an Airborne leather jacket on, with his chocolate locks blowing a bit in the wind as he looked at the group of women. 

" As I have said previously, I am Captain McPeterson formally of the 82nd Airborne and I am here to start your training today to get you to becoming the first 20 female paratroopers who will soon be spread through the 11th, 13th, 17th, 82nd and the 101st." McPeterson explained to them all, " The Commander, Major General James Mingus, has assigned me to this task. As I am prepared to train you, and help you perform the 5 jumps that will get you all your Jump Wings."

" Yes, sir." 

" Follow me, then, we're going to start on basic maneuvers of what jumping from a plane should look like, but instead it'll be a 3 foot jumping base." McPeterson explained to the group. Hazel glanced at Lizzie beside her, who looked towards her with wide, curious eyes. 

The training over the next 2 weeks which would help the women receive their jump rings, went through with quick and intense, rapid-fire power of how you should be jumping out of a plan, but in the end, you were jumping from a plane and making sure your chute came out. 

McPeterson, Hazel felt, was a good teacher, at explaining each and every little bit of a parachute and how it opens when you jump out of an airplane. He was thorough in his words, as well as making sure each person knew each bit of the parachute before they were to even train with it. 

They didn't pack their own chutes, other organizations performed that task for them, but McPeterson went through the trouble of making sure the small group of women each knew how to do so. 

They performed, tough, daunting runs in their packs through the freezing snow of night and the chilly winds of day, to feel what it was to run with a parachute strapped to your back as well as your heavy gear that you were to lug around where you went. 

The 2 weeks were more hell feeling than what Thermes had been it felt, but each and every task the women performed they knew were helping them get closer to becoming paratroopers. 

Dorothy Freeman, one of the women who was to be going to the 17th, had found a way to easily pin up your hair into your helmet so when someone jumped, your hair wouldn't get in your face. She taught all the girls how to do that with their hair and Hazel realized that even just jumping from a tiny 5 foot wall that it was helpful in many ways. 

McPeterson went through many jump tactics, and Hazel wasn't sure how many times she jumped off a tiny wooden place replica to the ground and counted 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 until the parachute was supposed to come out. 

But she did it enough that she remembered walking outside for mess and doing a quick count off as she touched the ground. 

It was engrained almost. 

Hazel felt bad for Lizzie with the medic satchel she had to lug around, but Lizzie always said that it was worth getting to save someone's life. 

Hazel admired that. 

Each night when the girls got back from their training, they were able to receive hot showers, and warm beds, as the pot belly stove that Captain McPeterson had brought in himself sat in the middle smoking with steam that warmed them up. Hazel sat slowly brushing through her hair, which had dead ends around the base of it, clearly in need of another cut very soon.

" Hey, guys." the women heard Carol LaFayette say as she came over to their beds with a paper in her hands.

" What?" Catherine asked leaning forward as Lizzie slowly sat down on Catherine's bed beside her.

" December 4th, 1942. The US bombed Naples, Italy. American B-24 Liberators wiped out the entire bay area." Carol said, turning and showing a picture of the harbor up for the others to see. Hazel slowly leaned forward and took the paper from her hands and let her eyes wander over the page. 

" Wow." Hazel whispered.

" Completely annihilated the place," Carol said, looking at the paper. 

" They flew in from North Africa." Carol said as Hazel handed her back the paper.

" Think we could earn these jump wings any faster?" another woman, by the name of Kathleen Spencer said as she walked over with a smoke.

" We need all the training we could get if we are to survive a war zone." Catherine said glancing up towards her, " I want to jump in and finish this thing, but if we don't have proper training, we could die out there. And we're women, we have even a riskier chance of getting captured and dehumanized. Remember that." 

" You have a point." Kathleen said.

" I studied the human mind in college," Catherine clarified.

" You went to college?" Carol asked with wide eyes.

" Cornell." Catherine clarified. Carol's eyes widened as Lizzie nodded. 

" What the hell are you doing in the Airborne then?" Veronica asked her.

" Figured I needed to do something with myself in the middle of this war. SPARs was the thing that brought me here." Catherine explained.

" And we're glad it did." Hazel said with a smile as Catherine looked to her with bright eyes of thanks.

" I'm really glad it did." Catherine said with a small smile. Eventually the women trickled away until it was just Hazel, Catherine and Lizzie. Hazel slowly walked over and sat down with the other 2 women on the bed.

" What's are your mind, Hazel?" Catherine asked the young woman sat in front of her. Hazel shrugged, and bit her lip.

" You ever think of where we might be going after this?" she asked them. Lizzie thoughtfully glanced around before moving closer to the two, and leaning against her knees." I overhead McPeterson the other day with another jump master. I heard talks of North Africa." Lizzie said softly. Both Catherine and Hazel's eyes widened. 

" I've also heard Europe though, up to England." Lizzie said. The woman listened to everything, and picked up on basically any ounce of information she could listen to within a 100 foot radius.

" Africa's hot, I'm hoping that it's Europe we go to." Catherine said. 

" Any word on where the other Airborne's are probably heading to?" Hazel asked her.

" Pacific theater." Lizzie said with a nod, " McPeterson and a few other Airborne officers were all talking with the latest news and information on all Airborne units. Now, they don't know if it's true, but they know that, that's what information is in the talks for now." 

" What about the others? 13th, 17th?" Catherine asked her.

" 13th was talked about heading to Europe, but they don't even have authorized activation yet." Lizzie explained, " They still are recruiting men for the training process, the girls involved from here, are most likely going to be NCOs, maybe even a Lieutenant or two during the training." 

" 17th was talked about Europe, and the 82nd was talked about for Europe as well." Lizzie explained, " Not all Airborne's are activate though and officially an 'Airborne', so the women that train here probably have to go through some more basic training with the men they train with."

" 101st?" Hazel asked her.

" Authorized and activated." Lizzie answered with a smile and Hazel sighed with relief.

" Maybe we'll be the first of the batch to see combat, who knows." Catherine said as she leaned back against the head board. Hazel sighed and scratched her neck. 

" We have one more day until we earn our wings," Lizzie said out loud, " then we'll be paratroopers."

" Kinda crazy to think about." Catherine said with a sigh. Hazel nodded, looking back now. 

" What do you guys think the men will be like?" Lizzie asked, " Think they heard the rumors about us?"

" Oh most definitely." Catherine said as she sat up, " These rumors have been spreading since we came here in August." 

" Oh god." Hazel whispered, putting her hands to her face.

" Amazon Warrior my ass, I swear if I get called one," Catherine said shaking her head, " we're women. We're not Amazon Warriors from Ancient Rome." Lizzie offered a tiny smile. 

" I mean, you have to know what I mean. To be a woman of importance you have to be related to that of some even more famous woman of excellent, rich and famous name now. We're just ordinary women. I mean, I want to be thought of in that way." Catherine said looking at them. Hazel smiled.

" You're not the only one." Hazel said. 

" The idea was cool, but then the expectation is held up because it's in everyone's mind." Lizzie admitted. Catherine nodded.

" We'll just stick together ladies, ok?" Catherine said, " We've trained hard to be here and to get to this point and to get our jump wings." Hazel and Lizzie nodded. 

They were relatively the most rational group of women throughout the 20 Airborne women. The others were radical in their own ways, and entirely too extreme, and a little toxic, with their personalities through the roof. The 3 women strayed away from them, remaining humble and conserved and working through just to get their wings. They mostly came from 1st and 3rd platoon, but the 3 women knew if they had each other, they would be fine. 

The last day of jump training consisted of McPeterson going through jumping off a 34 foot tower, attached into a little suit they slid you into with bungee cords. Hazel felt fearless jumping from the sky even at 34 foot and then over a few hundred tomorrow and the days after. She had faced bigger fears than that in life. Each woman practiced jumping from that tower 5 times, to get the feel of jumping from a plane and how it will go when they become paratroopers. 

On the jump day, each woman felt a bit of pride sweltering inside their bodies as they strode out to the tarmac where the singular plane they'd be jumping from sat waiting and ready. The women wore helmets, with their hair pinned back just as Dorothy had showed them to, with their parachutes strapped to their backs. McPeterson stood at the door proudly watching the group walk over across the tarmac.

" Ladies." McPeterson said as he stood at the door, with a few other men inside the plane, a C-47, doing checks or looking like they would be assisting with making sure the women could get out of the plane. 

" Sir." The women called as they lined up in rows of 5.

" You are about to make 1 of 5 from a C47 aircraft scheduled for today. Upon successful completion of your fifth and final jump, you'll be certified Army paratroopers." Hazel smiled proudly, just at the thought.

" You will be jumping from 100 feet AGL in this C47, with 20 of you inside. I've prepared you to the highest ability I could've within 2 weeks, but you are all highly intelligent and ready for this." McPeterson said as Hazel looked at the group again. Everyone seemed eager and anxious, just ready to jump now.

" And, ladies, rest assured, any refusals in the aircraft or at the door and I guarantee you, you will be out of the Airborne." McPeterson said again, and Hazel let out a low breath of air. As they slowly filed into the plane, McPeterson checking their gear before they got up and into the plane quickly. He gave it a few checks before he gave a pat on the shoulder to the woman and turned to the next. As Hazel stood in front of him, as he checked her parachute and webbing and helmet, she felt a sense of readiness. 13 weeks of training, and extra 2 to 3 for jump training, she felt ready. She felt very ready. 

" Good luck, Parker." McPeterson said as she offered a smile and then climbed up and into the plane belly. It was must, with a rickety sense of movement as she moved along the strip and it shifted a bit. She slowly sat herself down next to Catherine who smiled at her. 

" We're ready for this." Catherine said to her as Hazel looked towards her and nodded.

" I'm ready." Hazel whispered and Catherine smiled at her. 

As the plane started moving, Hazel's stomach started doing somersaults as they gained altitude into the sky, and then began gently cruising through the clouds. There was a cool breeze coming through the nearby window where McPeterson stood looking out and over the fields below that they'd be jumping into. Hazel kept looking towards the opening.

" Get ready!" she heard McPeterson call suddenly and Hazel reached for the clip from her pack holding it out in front of her. 

" Stand up!" McPeterson instructed and the 20 women stood with ease.

" Hook up!" McPeterson called again as everyone clipped their clips to the wire. She heard it clip easily into place and gave it a few extra yanks to ensure that it was in place. 

" Check equipment!" McPeterson called again. Hazel began feeling Catherine checking her equipment from behind, carefully and gently, so she reached forward and began checking Lizzie's equipment her hands shaking furiously from fear. But she knew she was ready, she had to be.

" Sound off for equipment check!" McPeterson yelled back to the last person at the back. 

" Twenty ok!" It moved down through towards where it grew closer to Hazel's number.

" Twelve ok!

" Eleven ok!" the women called until she heard Catherine yell, " Nine ok!" while patting her shoulder.

" Eight ok!" she yelled, her higher pitched voice evident that she was there. 

" Seven ok!" Lizzie called until it reached the front of the group.

" Stand in the door!" McPeterson called as Carol, who was in the front, moved up, making everyone else move up behind him. Hazel watched as Carol stood in the doorway, eyes set as the wind hit her face. The light turned green. 

" Go, go!" McPeterson yelled and then Carol was gone and out the door.

" Go, go, go, go!" McPeterson called as women followed Carol, jumping out, one after the other. 

Blood rushed through Hazel's ears, loud and overpowering as she took each step closer towards the door. but she was ready. 

Suddenly, Lizzie was out of the door and she was next. Hazel walked up to the door and stepped up to the edge, not even daring to look down but towards the sky. The bleak, bare sky which gave her hope for her future.

" Go!" McPeterson called and without a second of hesitation, she jumped straight out of the door. 

The minute she did so, she couldn't wipe the large smile that found its way to her face. She felt herself flying through the air, the wind hitting her face as she saw the ground coming faster and faster towards her. 

But then there was a pull that pulled her back up a bit to the sky, and she glanced up to see it was her parachute, her canopy that let her fly through the sky. She was smiling so wide as she flew gently through the air, rocking gently back and forth as the breeze hit her briefly. She watched as other women's canopies opened and they gently fluttered to the ground. Hazel watched as the ground slowly came closer. 

She then fell in a heap on the ground, hitting it rather roughly, rolling a few times before stopping, out of breath, and inhaling the scent of the Earth.

She smiled. 

They'd done it. 

They'd completed their first jump. 

When Hazel sat up and clicked off her parachute, she couldn't stop the smile from spreading to her face.

" Hazel!" a voice called and Hazel looked up to see Lizzie running towards her, hair whipping behind her with her helmet in her hands. 

" Lizzie!" Hazel said before standing and the two girls launching each other into hugs. Lizzie pulled back giggling.

" I can't believe we did it, our first jump!" Lizzie said holding Hazel at arms length. 

" I felt free, like a bird." Hazel said shaking her head with a grin on her face, " It was amazing."

" It was worth all that training," Lizzie said with a giddy smile, holding her head in her hands. The two girls looked over their shoulders and watched as the rest of the women slowly floated to the ground from the plane.

" It was like you could see everything." Hazel said her eyes gentle. Lizzie smiled. Catherine came running up to them, whipping her helmet from head as she did so, with a wide grin on her face.

" Pardon me, but that was fucking awesome!" she said as she approached them, making the two girls break into laughter, " Who knew I'd love jumping from a plane as much as that." Hazel smiled at her. 

But it was much more than just those few simple sentences. They knew paratroopers were the elites, and their job they would be doing was heavily dangerous, but the people that were doing it were the ones who were willing to risk their lives for it all. Hazel lived by that.

Within the coming days, the jumps went similarly to the first one, on bright sunny mornings, without a cloud in the sky as a chilly wind swept throughout the sky and the fields of wheat. Hazel always felt so free, hanging in her canopy as she guided her parachute to the ground safely and landed, filled with relief. 

She always felt like a bird, ready to fly far away and to the stars, away from it all, from this war torn world. But sometimes that was just the fantasy in her head speaking. 

On their 5th and final jump, the morning was slightly warmer than it had been in the past, and there was a fulfilling excitement that overwhelmed the entire plane as they slowly gained elevation again. 

Hazel couldn't wipe the smile from her lips as she sat there, watching them ascend up into the clouds. There wasn't an ounce of fear or hesitation, as she flew through the air, her parachute spreading like bird wings. She felt she was on top of the world, able to see everything from where she was at the current moment. She could see the trees at the edge of the horizon, lit up by the sun, and she could see lakes and mountains in the distance. She could see tiny towns and people walking around. She could see it all, she felt. She came crashing to the ground in a large heap, rolling around before stopping just like her past few times, and then inhaling the green grass. She smiled to herself before flipping on her back and standing, yanking each piece of her equipment off, her helmet lopsided on her head, but a smile on her lips. 

And a rollercoaster of emotion. 

They were going to be paratroopers. 

As Hazel stood it truly hit her what she had done by touching the ground and landing for her 5th time. She would be a paratrooper. It was utterly overwhelming, but when she saw her friends celebrating on the field, hugging each other, calling out to one another, smiles on their rosy cheeks, eyes bright and twinkling on that cold morning, Hazel truly realized they'd done it. 

That evening they were to be presented with their paratrooper wings. Hazel stood in front of the mirror, tying her tie slowly around her neck, as her hair lay in gentle curls down her back. She cautiously worked the tie around her neck loosely, biting her lip, focused.

" Can you believe it?" a voice asked and Hazel looked over towards Catherine who stood beside her, brushing through her hair.

" No," Hazel said with a gentle laugh, as she slowly looped the tie through the hole and gave it a tug, " not at all."

" I can barely because soon enough we'll be off with the 101st, and who knows what that'll be like." Catherine said. 

" They didn't prepare us for that," Lizzie said walking up with a small smile, " but I guess, I can just smile and wave."

" Or flaunt those jump wings." Catherine said with a laugh, " They're gonna have to find a way to respect us." 

" I think they'd respect us." Hazel said optimistically, " Hopefully, at least." Catherine smiled at Hazel.

" You're too pure for this war, Hazel." Catherine said, as Hazel offered a tiny smile and Lizzie smiled softly. 

" I think they're gonna love you." Lizzie said as she sat down on her bed and tightened her shoes, " I mean, you're one of the most genuine, nicest people, and you listen to all my stupid rambling." Hazel laughed lightly and smiled.

" Thanks, guys, I guess I've just always been like that." Hazel said, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear.

" Stay like that, it brings some humanity into this war." Catherine said looking at Hazel softly. Hazel felt her heart grow warm. She hoped that she didn't let that was change her too much. 

The ceremony was similar to that of receiving their Camp Athene medals for graduation. Except there were 20 of them in the room. Captain McPeterson stood in the front of the room, in front of the 20 women, and Major General Ridgway was entering the room again with Sergeant Sweeney by his side. Another surprise was to see that Captain Thermes also was there behind them with Sergeant Loughty. Hazel cast a questioning glance, but felt a swell of pride when she watched Thermes smile a bit. 

Proudly.

" Ladies," Ridgway said as he stood in front of them all, " you have all completed the 5 jumps required to earn your jump wings and I can't give you anything but praise for your determination and passion that drove you through to earning those wings." 

" I will be coming around and pinning your set of Jump Wings to the breast area, beside your Camp Athene medal. I can't express the amount of pride I have in all of you and how proud I am of each and every one of you for watch you have accomplished as official members of the Airborne." Ridgway said with a proud smile upon his face. 

Hazel smiled on the inside. 

She watched as Ridgway went around with Sweeney holding the velvet case of Jump Wings in his hands, beside Ridgway. Ridgway stepped in front of Hazel and smiled down at her. She broke from her facade and couldn't help but offer a grateful smile up at him. She watched as he slowly reached into the velvet box of paratrooper Jump Wings and pulled out the most meaningful thing she felt she'd ever get in her life. He attached it to her uniform before stepping back.

" Congratulations, Corporal Parker." Ridgway said to her and she smiled up at him.

" Thank you, sir." she said, and saluted him. Ridgway smiled at her before saluting her back. Then he held out his hand to her and she looked up at his eyes. 

They twinkled like stars, with a wise glint. 

She smiled, shaking his hand with hers. 

Once he moved on to Diana Wilkes beside her, Hazel couldn't push the smile from her face as Sweeney gave her smile as she walked past her. She smiled back at him, as her heart raced with pride. She couldn't believe she had made it to this point, with over 3 different types of training within the year. 


	13. new york city

" Sometimes you get to what you thought was the end and you find it's a whole new beginning."

_\- Anne Taylor_

✰✰✰

When they were dismissed, many of the women decided to head out to the PX Bar with some of the 82nd men, but Hazel, Catherine and Lizzie got news that they had to move out to New York City. Sweeney had stopped them before they had left where they had received their wings. He had clear instructions from Ridgway, who had been contacted by Colonel Sink. 

The men of the 506th were receiving their wings around Christmas, which was in about a week and a half. 

But, the women were ahead in training compared to them, so they were being moved out to England earlier than they were. More than 6 months, still without meeting the men they would be fighting a war with. Brilliant.

hey were moving out by train tomorrow. They'd be on a cargo ship, with members of the Chateau Thierry, who was set to head to Ireland, but was making a stop in Plymouth England for cargo and for the 3 women, who would be picked up by American counter parts who were to be in England. 

So, the next day, the 3 women boarded a train to New York City after bidding the 17 other women good bye and wishing them luck in the future of their training with the men they would be with for the war. It was about 0900 when they finally got on the train after Captain Thermes had been the one to escort them to the train and put down his guard for a moment and wished the 3 luck. 

They found seats in the corner, and carefully slid in with their jump wings and uniforms and luggage. Catherine and Lizzie slid in across from Hazel and let out a sigh of relief as they finally sat down, with their Jump Wings pinned to their chest on their way to New York City.

" So, Christmas 1942? Spent on some ship to England?" Catherine said with a playing smirk on her lips. 

" Not the weirdest place I've spent Christmas." Lizzie commented and the two girls looked at her. 

" What?" Catherine asked her and Lizzie nodded. 

" Christmas 1934, my dad decided to take my family ice fishing out on Lake Michigan, in these tiny huts called an ice shanty, on Christmas Eve. I spent my Christmas there, pulling fish out of freezing cold water." Lizzie said, " Life with a father from the military, and that's not the craziest he'd done." The girls chuckled a bit.

" Was the fish good at least?" Hazel asked softly. Lizzie smiled. 

" Best fish I'd had in a while, even on that Christmas morning, my brother was training to become a chef by then, wanted to be the greatest. He knew how to cook up a fish." Lizzie said.

" You haven't talked much about your brothers, what are they like?" Hazel asked as she sat up and looked at Lizzie. Lizzie smiled. 

" Brady's the oldest, he wanted to be a chef ever since he was a kid, but then the war broke out and he had to stop his internship he had and sign up for the Navy." Lizzie explained, " I felt bad for him. But he hopes to pursue it afterwards." Hazel smiled.

" Then there's Michael, we look pretty similar, there's just a huge height difference and he's more of the All-American, with the scholarship for football and all. So he went out for Notre Dame, became a wide receiver, before he signed up for the marines when the war broke out. He felt he couldn't just stand around and play football as men sacrificed themselves. I agreed with him." Lizzie explained. Hazel smiled at her. 

" Sounds like my brothers." Catherine said, " Jack and Clark, they both went out for the Marines, right after December 7th. I'd never seen them as worked up as that." Hazel bit her lip. 

The train ride was peaceful, as Hazel stared out the window, watching as the world flew past outside. 

Would this be the last time she saw America? 

Her home? 

Would she ever come back from the brutalities of war? 

Would she feel like she finally left the war in the end? 

What pain would she possibly come home with? 

She tried to push that from her mind as she focused on the clouds and the sky and the sun above them and the world outside the train. It was warm inside the train as Hazel laid back and stared outside. Catherine was attempting to do so reading as Lizzie was generously eating some food from the concession run by a member of the military.

" What's that Hazel?" Catherine asked Hazel pointing to the necklace around her neck. The Star of David. Hazel smiled softly as she sat up and put the tiny emblem in her palm. 

" It's my dziadek's, my grandfather's, he was a Polish-Jew, before he converted to Catholic for my grandmother." Hazel said, " He gave it to me before I came on the train to the WAC." Catherine smiled softly.

" That must mean so much," Catherine said as she leaned forward and looked at it gently. 

" I don't want this to sound the way it might, but was that part of the reason you came out to the WAC and then to Camp Athene?" Catherine asked her, as Lizzie looked up. Hazel nodded.

" Polish people are being prosecuted for being Polish. That could've been me. I just felt I had to do something." Hazel said, " And being here now, getting closer to war, brings some comfort knowing hopefully that persecution will stop soon." Catherine smiled. 

" It's the pride of the country," Lizzie said leaning forward, " I admire people that go to fight for our country." And Lizzie smiled at Hazel and Hazel smiled wide at her. 

Their train pulled into New York City, at a military depot, where a Lieutenant of Camp Shanks met them.

" Hello ladies," he said as he approached them out of the smoke from the train. The 3 women offered smiles.

" Welcome to Last Stop, USA, I'm Lieutenant Thomas Dyer. This is the biggest embarkment camp in the US, so we're hoping to accommodate you for your last evening in the United States." he said with a smile at him.

" Thank you, sir." Lizzie said with a smile. 

" Follow me, we're keeping you ladies under wraps still, away from the public as I've been informed, so we can't head out the entrance of the train station." he explained to them," Follow me." 

The 3 women followed after the Lieutenant through the crowd of military men before turning and moving out a back door, that led to a designated alley way which seemed to be for military personnel. The Lieutenant walked over to a military staff car. He opened up the back trunk and took the women's luggage with ease.

" This will be the best way to make sure we get to Shanks without you ladies being seen." he confirmed as he opened the back door of the car, and allowed the 3 women to sit down side by side in the back row, with still enough space. 

Dyer closed the door before walking around the opposite side of the car and pulling the door handle open to the driver's seat. He slowly sat down in his uniform and turned the car on, before removing his cap from his head, and respectfully placing it down on the chair. He slowly rolled the car forward, down the rest of the alley way and then out onto the main road of the streets of New York City. 

Hazel's eyes became glued to the window, like wide balls of amazement as she stared at all the buildings and people that walked throughout the streets so freely. There were children and couples and older men walking little dogs or carrying boxes of supplies at their store fronts. Oh how Hazel wished she could just walk along the streets and visit all the shops. Maybe in the future when there weren't so many restrictions for Operation Virago. 

Hazel watched the children with smiles on their faces walked along the streets, as the blistering wind was blocked by the tall buildings that were in the city of New York. It was all so, magical in a sense. Hazel had never been to a city. Lizzie and Catherine glanced to each other with smiles on their faces as they watched Hazel look out into the city with such wonder in her eyes.

" You like it?" Lieutenant Dyer asked as he glanced back in the rearview mirror, noticing the tiny Corporal looking out at the city with luminous eyes. 

" It's beautiful, sir." Hazel said, watching lights flash above them in buildings. Catherine noticed Lieutenant Dyer smile. 

They drove through New York City, watching the busy life of the people who lived there seem to thrive, as a war raged. Catherine couldn't help but feel a slight pit in her stomach as the American people enjoyed this freedom here right now. There were soldiers fighting in the Pacific right now, for their lives and their country, as people back in America, in countries all over the nation, live freely, with a democracy without tyranny. It gave Catherine hope. Lieutenant Dyer slowly turned onto the bridge that would take them across the George Washington Bridge and into New Jersey.

" I've never been to Jersey." Lizzie said as she leaned forward with wide eyes as they looked at the tiny towns that were right there once you got off the bridge. 

" It's the Garden State." the women heard Dyer say from the front, " Cranberries, blueberries, tomatoes, you name it."

" My ma used Jersey tomatoes all the time from the market," Hazel said leaning forward, " she always said that they were the best ones produced." 

" Your mom sounds like the cutest person." Lizzie said leaning forward, " What's she like?"

" She made homemade food all the time, lots of jams, preservatives, sauces, all homemade. But she was brought up that way." Hazel said, " And I look a lot like her, with the hair and the eyes and the nose. We're very similar. I miss her a lot." Hazel smiled at them and then looked out at new Jersey.

" I wish she could see all this, all the world has to offer." Hazel said.

" She will." Catherine said as Hazel glanced towards her, " When she sees what her daughter can do in the military, fighting for the country." Hazel smiled. As they passed back into New York again, they moved towards Camp Shanks, as darkness slowly fell around them. Lieutenant Dyer, slowly pulled into the camp, and drove towards an office building. He slowly pulled the car into a parking spot near a bunch of other military staff vehicles and parked it. Then he grabbed his cap and adjusted it on his head, before turning to look at the women.

" You'll be housed with WAC members for the night, their barracks are near the other side of camp." the Lieutenant explained to them as the women nodded.

" Ok, let me help you all out." he said as he opened his door and camp to Hazel's door and opened it up before stepping back. As Hazel turned and jumped out of the car, like a child she couldn't help but look around it wonder at the size of the camp surrounding them. It was amazing, all of it. Lizzie and Catherine hopped out after Hazel as Dyer went around to grab their bags from the back. 

" How big is this place?" Catherine asked Dyer as he handed her, her bag.

" Pretty big, biggest embarkment camp to date. Currently 40,000 soldiers each month." he explained. 

" Holy shit." Catherine said as Dyer smirked.

" I know right? Wouldn't suspect it." he said as Catherine nodded, as he handed Lizzie and Hazel their bags. 

" Alright, let me take you to your barracks, you only have cots, since it's one night, but you'll be with a few of the officers here in the WAC." Dyer explained as he started walking and the women followed him, " In the morning at about 1100, after breakfast, I'll come and find you ladies and drive you to your embarkment spot in the docks in the city, to head out to Plymouth, England."

" Yes, sir." the trio answered him. He led them towards a building and knocked on the door. There were footsteps behind the door and then it opened and there was a woman on the other side with a smile on her face. 

" Lieutenant, how can we help you?" she asked, before her eyes found the trio.

" The Airborne ladies, of course." she said as Dyer smiled at her. 

" Thanks Sergeant, make sure they get settled and get some rest. They leave tomorrow for England." Dyer explained.

" Yes, sir." the WAC Sergeant said, before stepping back, " Come on in ladies." Catherine led the way up into the barrack where a few other women were. 

" I'm Claudia Albright, one of the Sergeants here with the WAC, we've heard all about you guys." she said as she walked in and a few other women began looking their way.

" Really? All the way up here?' Catherine asked as Claudia walked forward and took a seat on a bed. 

" Of course! Operation Virago is popular amongst us ladies. We always try to get information on it to see how it's going, so we were excited when we heard you three were staying with us." Claudia said.

" Yeah!" a tiny ginger haired woman said, " I mean, you're all so amazing, to be accepted into the program and be able to fight alongside men and advocate more for change to happen hopefully. It just means a lot seeing women do that that, especially now. I'm Annie by the way." The trio smiled. 

" We hope to live up to that." Lizzie said with a smile, " We want change as well and hope the success of this starts something even greater." The WAC women in the barrack were welcoming and fun to talk to when they weren't training. They asked about training for basic and for being a paratrooper with their jump wings and what that was like. 

That night, Hazel lay awake at night, staring at the window above the cot she was in, staring up at the stars, with slightly saddened eyes. She hoped that they could live up to the support all the women in the female branches of the military were giving, and advocate for a change to the military and show that they were just as equal to any man in the military. 

Lieutenant Dyer was there early the following morning, 1100 as expected and ready to take the ladies to their embarkment dock on the Chateau Thierry. The women road in their Virago uniforms through New York City again, in the early afternoon light, watching people eat lunch in little open dinner sights along the street. They arrived at the docking sight with help from Lieutenant Dyer as he insisted that he carry their bags until they got checked in. The women were received by the Colonel working on the ship and that's where Lieutenant Dyer turned to them with a smile.

" I wish you luck ladies. Fight for America, remember that." he said as he shook each of their hands. 

" Thank you, sir." the women chorused to him, as he gave them a quick salute and then hurried away. This would be the last time on American soil. Hazel let out a breath of air as she slowly descended up into the ship, as the group followed after the Colonel into the ship.

" We have an area for you ladies, up near where the Captain is staying, since there's only 3 of you and not a full company." he said.

" Thank you, sir." the women said to him and the Colonel smiled. He took them up into a hallway and down the hall to a dorm, opening up the door into a rather large bedroom, with 3 beds set up.

" If you want, you can head on down to the deck, get the last glimpse of Lady Liberty before she pulls away." the Colonel said to the trio, " Beautiful view." 

" Thank you, sir." the women said and the Colonel nodded with a smile towards them before stepping out.

" This is beautiful." Lizzie said as he shut the door, and she walked over to the window, " All of it, I mean, 2 weeks on the ocean and Christmas here? I think I'll be fine." 

" Yeah, yeah, it's nice." Catherine said as she peered out the window.

" I think we should go look at Lady Liberty." Hazel said as she adjusted her cap.

" Let's!" Lizzie said as she grabbed her gloves and the 3 women bustled down to a less crowded area of the deck. 

The air was salty, and it was chilly as it was rather chilly standing against the railing. Hazel felt a nervousness in her stomach, a need to uphold what they were to do. It was an odd feeling, like a bittersweet homecoming; she didn't miss her home life much, but she missed her mother and couldn't imagine her mother sitting home alone by the fire, sipping her lukewarm soup. 

As soon as the ship began to move, the last sight of America the troops got was the Statue of Liberty, standing tall and proudly, facing the troops as they pulled out to harbor. Hazel leaned against the railing next to Catherine as the wind gently hit her face, and the orange and yellow hues of the sunset lit up her eyes. 

Lady Liberty was a proud woman, she had been ever since she arrived, but now in this dire moment of terror that the world was set in, she brought power and pride to the soldiers leaving their home, letting them know that some were never coming back. 

Hazel sucked in a deep breath, as the sun dipped behind the horizon, and Lady Liberty disappeared into darkness as the troop ship moved toward Europe, toward England, toward the ever looming war that slowly crept in like a quiet nightmare. 


	14. england

" As with the butterfly, adversity is necessary to build character in people."

_\- Joseph B. Wirthlin_

✰✰✰

The women took their dinner and ate in the room they had been given, talking about different things before deciding to light a candle and bed down for the night. Many days on the ship were just spent wandering the decks and eating and waiting for their arrival at Plymouth. It was a cargo filled ship and a few times the girls managed to find themselves overlooking a bunch of military issued equipment below, like jeeps or trucks. It was all fascinating. 

Christmas 1942 on the ship was rather quiet, with the girl's waking up on their first Christmas from home to chocolates out front of their front door and the sweet smell of cinnamon wafting through the officer's quarters. It was all such a pleasant atmosphere. 

Even though it did happen to be the first Christmas away from home, Hazel found herself comforted by having Catherine and Lizzie by her side. She didn't think about Christmas from her childhood, she didn't think about any of the memories that had overwhelmed her past Christmases. She just focused on the joy she felt being with women who were like sisters. 

Docking in at Plymouth in the New Year, 1943, was an interesting experience from the time change as well as the atmosphere. It was all so lively and exciting, being in a different country, with British people. 

Hazel had never met a British person. 

The women were taken to a British Army base in Wiltshire, England. When they first arrived, the British soldiers there were all a bit, surprised. To see 3 American women being led into their mess hall, with their uniforms in pristine condition. But the surprising thing was, they were all so welcoming to the women. They wanted to get to know them and they invited them to the pubs on the weekends and they also were very much tuned into what each woman was like. Probably a military thing. 

Lizzie managed to wrap a poor Lieutenant around her finger, because she was just so wonderfully positive and the Lieutenant couldn't get past the sight of her. Lizzie was fairly oblivious as well, but she preached all the time about how she was here for war. 

All 3 women were here for the war and the training they would be provided. 

Hazel met Sergeant Robert Coleman, a member of the Special Forces who specialized in weapons and hand-to-hand combat, the things Hazel needed work on. 

Robert Coleman had been in England for a year by this point when he had finally met the young woman, but the way she carried herself and the humbleness that exuded from her, as well as the complete and utter confidence she had in her weapon, surprised Coleman. He had dealt with plenty of soldiers who were scared-shitless over the tiniest of things. But Hazel, Hazel was calm and confident and she didn't need to brag about it. 

She knew she was good and that was the major difference. 

If the woman was flustered under pressure, she never truly showed it or portrayed she was. She was efficient in reloading her weapon quickly, staying almost absolutely still during the entire process, and her accuracy was off the charts. Her consistency was rather incredible. 

However, hand to hand combat was something that was not that consistent.

" Now, place your hand," Coleman said, " here." Hazel slowly placed her hand on the back of his neck, while the other was placed on his shoulder.

" These are called combatives." Coleman explained, pointing to the position they were in. 

" Close quarters," Coleman explained, " for if you can't use your weapon." Hazel nodded.

" They usually don't have me teach enlisted this position, but I'm going to teach you this one, because for you as a female, with your stature, could be extremely beneficial." Coleman explained and Hazel nodded.

" What you're going to do, is bring my head down, which will force the rest of my body down along with my spine and lower back area. Your hand on my shoulder will aid with that." Coleman said, pointing to her hand on his shoulder. Hazel nodded. 

" Your knee," Coleman said, pointing to her knee, " will push into my gut, while your foot, or shin, will go to my groan. This is an easy way for someone like your height, to bring someone full force, down." 

" Ok," Hazel said, " but how do I get good at doing that, or quicker?" Coleman gently removed his hold on the woman's shoulders and stepped back.

" Patience." Coleman told her and Hazel nodded. She knew plenty about patience.

" You've been here about a month, and we haven't even fully reached your potential yet," Coleman told her, " but I know you can reach it." Hazel smiled softly with a nod. 

" Let me show you another combative, for if you're pushed to the ground." Coleman stated as he got on his knees and Hazel positioned herself beside him. 

" Let me set the scene," Coleman said, pointing to the dirt, " say you're pushed to the ground. Combat will be ugly. The ground will be your best friend and you can use it to your advantage. The ground's your support." Coleman demonstrated as he laid his back on the ground, his knees bent up. He patted his chest. 

" Say he's above me," Coleman said, pointing upwards, " if he's above me, and even if you're still held down, you can use your arms and legs to your advantage." Hazel nodded. 

" What happens if my arms are held down?" Hazel asked. 

" Come here," Coleman said and Hazel approached him. 

" Come in between my legs and hold down both my arms." Hazel gently pushed down on both his arms. Coleman laughed.

" What?" 

" For a sniper, your sure are one of the most gentle people, really, push on my arms. You push hard enough, they can break." Coleman said and Hazel snickered softly a bit. Then she really pushed down in his elbows, where the dip was. 

" Perfect," Coleman said, " you see how my arms are pushed down like that?" Hazel nodded. Coleman's legs tightened around her, and then flipped her to the side, straight into the dirt, as air flew from her lungs, and instead her arms became pinned down by Coleman who now sat on top of her. Coleman nodded to her as he moved from on top of her, and held out a hand. She grasped it, gasping for a breath as she slowly stood to her feet. 

" In any way with your arms pinned down like that, use the muscle in your legs." Coleman said. 

" Which is something I need more of." Hazel said. 

" You have muscle, you just need to build it. You didn't go through 15 weeks of training and then 2 weeks of jumping to say you need more of it. You just need to strengthen it." Coleman stated.

" How?" Coleman smiled. 

" You start small, then you expand on it." Coleman said, " You may think it is sorta ridiculous at first, but as you grow on your training each week it'll get better. You'll be one of the best hand-to-hand combat fighters here." Hazel smiled slightly.

" Where do we start?" she asked him.

" With your stance." Coleman explained. Hazel nodded. 

" Your stance is where all this power," Coleman said, motioning towards her, " will be held and where it will all inevitably come from." Hazel nodded. 

" Your stance is staggered, more than your feet shoulder width apart." Coleman explained, as he stood beside her and demonstrated. Hazel followed. 

" Your guard," Coleman said bringing up his hands, " will protect your face, your upper chest, your ribs and your abdominal regions." Hazel brought her guard up and kept herself grounded. 

" Perfect," Coleman said, " weight distribution between feet should be 50-50, slightly angled to the side, but you should be grounded enough that when a blow comes at you, you can't be pushed. Think of your fighting positions. You were told stay grounded, stay put and stay still." Hazel nodded. Coleman gave a jab at her shoulder and she moved to the side.

" Good," Coleman said, " reflexes are key here. When you see something coming at you, you can block it, step to the side, move around your opponent or grab their arm and punch back." 

" Options." Hazel clarified with a nod.

" You always have options." Coleman agreed. He slowly set a stance in front of Hazel and looked at her through his guard. 

" When I come at you," Coleman started, demonstrating a punch coming towards her, " the guy you're fighting, his main goal is going to be some way to pin you down, get your back to the ground, anything to get close to killing you because he can't use his weapon. The fist is going to be the main motivator." Hazel nodded. 

" What you want to do, is bring up your arm," he stated, pointing to her left arm, " and bring it up to push against my own arm and push it away." Hazel brought her arm up, as he had showed her, and pushed his arm away to the side. 

" Alright, let's try it a few more times." he said and she nodded, getting back in her stance. She performed that a few more times before Coleman elaborated further.

" You're probably thinking what you have to do after you get to this position." Coleman said. 

" Yeah," Hazel nodded. 

" What do you think?" Coleman asked her. Hazel looked between Coleman and her arm pressed against his. She slowly looped her arm over his, and bent back his arm behind his back. 

" You sure learned something at Virago." he said as she held his arm though. 

She smiled. 

They continued throughout the majority of the day, doing simple tactics like that, which could be strung together to get out of harms way, as well as muscle building exercises. When Hazel got into barracks that night, she had never been more exhausted. 

" Someone's tired." Catherine said as Hazel sighed.

" Try exhausted." Hazel answered back.

" That Sergeant Coleman's putting you through it." Lizzie said as she lugged her medic satchel onto her bed. 

" It was hand-to-hand combat all day." Hazel said, as she turned on her side. 

" That's what you wanted to practice though, right?" Catherine said and Hazel nodded. 

" You're already good at it Hazel, just think of it as he's trying to better you." Lizzie told her and Hazel nodded, Lizzie was right. 

" How about you get some rest?" Catherine suggested to the tired girl and Hazel nodded. Hazel slept longer than she felt she ever had that night. 

Throughout the coming weeks, Hazel practiced endlessly with Coleman, but she felt herself becoming better with each passing moment. She was getting sharper and quicker and more confident and she was building much needed muscle. 

Catherine and Lizzie both noticed it. 

The 3 women would do morning runs together, from that of Camp Athene, and Hazel had struggled only slightly back in Camp Athene, but now she was able to keep pace with both Catherine and Lizzie and the 3 would be able to have conversations as they ran. 

It was actually enjoyable. 

And as the months turned warm, they found it even more enjoyable to be out in the early morning with the sun rising and the birds and insects starting their early morning songs. It was always so peaceful. 

" You think we're going to meet them soon?" Lizzie asked hopefully to the 2 women as they ran through the base that morning.

" How many times have we asked that question and gotten absolutely no response?" Catherine asked Lizzie who sighed sadly. 

" Hopefully soon." Hazel piped up, " I mean we've all been in training for over a year by now. Something has to happen soon." The 2 other women nodded.

" You said your father was in the Great War, Lizzie?" Catherine asked the medic." Yeah," Lizzie said, " combat medic." 

" You two must get along really well." Hazel said with a small smile, as something twinged in her heart. 

" Yeah, actually. He's like my best friend. He never really talked about the war, but he became a doctor after the war. He always said he felt he needed to save lives and be there for people. I guess that's where I get it from." Lizzie said. Hazel smiled.

" What about you, Cath? You said your dad was a Marine?" Lizzie asked the Sergeant in the middle.

" Oh, yes," Catherine said as she laughed, " ran our house like it was one of those barracks." 

" Really?" Lizzie asked with wide eyes. 

" No, no, I'm just kidding," Catherine said as Lizzie smirked, " but sometimes it felt like it. He took his military years seriously. But that's what my mom fell in love with, so..."

" Aw, that's so cute!" Lizzie squealed, as a group of Lieutenants walking around glanced the girls way. 

" I advise keeping your excitement levels down as we run, Lizzie, there's still some people who don't agree with us being here and we know that." Catherine said quietly as Hazel glanced back at the Lieutenants. 

" I just wish people could see us for who we are." Lizzie said softly, " We're just humans, fighting a war." 

" Try explaining that to them." Catherine said as the women glanced back to the group of Lieutenants. That was something they were learning to accept though. 

Their time at the base was fairly structured, and the people were friendly and helpful, but you always had one or two assholes, who voiced their opinion regularly on women and the military. It was usually someone who Catherine could outsmart, which Hazel and Lizzie found equally hilarious to watch. 

A woman with a high IQ was intimidating, especially when she was a year away from a college degree. 

One particular man, by that of Christopher Jenkins, a man of the 82nd Airborne and his snooty friends, of various degrees of annoyance and stupidity liked to roam around the base, and taunt the women in their own ways, and call them rather nasty things. There were some days while they were there that Hazel just wished she could wilt away, like a flower dying, and not have to hear the harsh slew of words, but she knew it was better to just stay put and accept it. 

Not every man would be happy that the women were apart of the United States Military. 

Hazel would admit it, the feeling sucked, not being accepted like they had in other ways, but it was the reality of being women in the military during this time period. 

Many times, Christopher would find Hazel alone, like on her way to Sergeant Coleman or back from showers at a multitude of times during the day, and just tell her things to try and bring her down. But what he said would never compare to the worst she had ever heard which had been from her father, someone she had loved so dearly and admired so much. 

How could she accept herself if she took words from someone she didn't know and care about? 

Why would she even consider caring about that? 

She wouldn't, because Christopher had no relevance to her life, he was merely an obstacle in the road that she had to get over, like the obstacle course where she carried the 80 pound jug. 

Christopher was daring enough to approach Sergeant Coleman himself. 

Everyone knew the Special Forces Op was working with the tiny sniper, and putting most of his attention and effort into that girl. Christopher was someone who went against that and thought Sergeant Coleman should be focusing on training large groups of men.

" Sergeant Coleman!" Christopher called. Sergeant Coleman was a respectful man. He deeply respected Hazel and could say that over the past few months of working together that they were friends, even if she was basically his pupil. He defended Hazel whenever he got the chance. 

Sergeant Coleman stopped and glanced over his shoulder to see Christopher coming towards him. 

" Sergeant Jenkins, pleasure seeing you here." Sergeant Coleman said as he faced forward again and watched as Christopher appeared at his side.

" Going to help that girl again?" Christopher asked him. 

" Yep," Sergeant Coleman answered with a nod, " what's up?" 

" Does the question always have to be, what's up? Can't we just, you know, talk, we're both Sergeants." Christopher asked him. Sergeant Coleman glanced at Christopher. 

" You were the one that called out to me on my way to a training session, so yeah, that's why I asked." Sergeant Coleman said as Christopher just shook his head with a smirk.

" Ever the saint, aren't ya, Coleman?" 

" What do you need? Hazel's probably waiting for me." 

" Oh, so now, you're curious." 

" Jenkins." Sergeant Coleman said firmly turning to face him, and stopping him with a hand on his chest. Christopher stared at him.

" I don't know if you need a fucking wake up call, but I am helping Hazel and if you are trying to take time away from that, then you are just the biggest fucking asshole I've ever met." Coleman snapped. 

Christopher paled. 

Sergeant Robert Coleman was generally not an angry person, at least Christopher had never seen him as angry as he was now. 

" Get your hand off me." Christopher said. Sergeant Coleman brought his hand down. 

" Don't ever hold me up again." Sergeant Coleman said, before turning, but Christopher stopped him.

" You think the citizens of America are really gonna be happy about all this secrecy with their government. You think when this war ends, they'll just applaud all these women for what they did, give them a pat on the back and thank them for their service. You really believe that?" Christopher said. 

" It's one thing to have hope, Jenkins, it's another to put every idea down. Maybe this will actually change something with our government and the way the military is viewed. You ever thought of that?" Christopher sneered. 

" You really think that twig of a girl can go out a shoot a Kraut head clean off?" Christopher snapped. 

" I won't surprised if it's your own." Sergeant Coleman sneered. Christopher narrowed his eyes.

" Give them a chance, the military willingly gave you one, too." Sergeant Coleman said, before stepping back from Christopher. 

Then Sergeant Coleman turned and walked away with his blood boiling. 

Everyone had their own ideas of women in the military but Sergeant Coleman was determined to be on the right side of history.


	15. reality

" Sometimes the memory of someone is better than the reality of them."

_\- Steve Maraboli_

✰✰✰

Hazel sat on a barrel, cleaning her rifle up when Sergeant Coleman came streaking in like a lightning rode towards where they were set to practice more hand to hand combat.

" You ready?" he asked quickly and Hazel raised a brow, confused. Usually he entered, with a hello, and asked her how she was.

" Are you ok?" Hazel asked him. 

" Fine," he answered. Hazel could tell when someone wasn't ok. She was observant, you had to be as a sniper, and that was normally underestimated of her. Hazel met his eyes and gave him a look.

" Sergeant Jenkins approached me again," Sergeant Coleman said.

" Again?" Hazel asked him.

" I told him off, per usual. The guy just pisses me off. It's like he won't even give humans a chance." Coleman said as he shook his head, " He's a prick." Hazel lulled her head side to side with a faint nod. 

" Has he said anything to you?" Coleman asked her. She nodded and Coleman raised a brow.

" The usual. Said I should go home, I don't belong here, nothing I haven't heard." Hazel told him as she turned and grabbed her rifle. 

" Hazel-"

" I knew when joining that no matter what happened, even if I got the Bronze Star for some heroic battle, that this would remain controversial. There would be theories and rumors. We, as women, had to accept that." Hazel told him. Coleman nodded.

" I just question one thing," Hazel said and Sergeant Coleman glanced at him.

" If he's so pissed about us, why hasn't America heard about it?" Hazel asked him.

" What do you mean?" 

" All men of the military were briefed about this, that if they told their families, they could be sentenced to death." Hazel said.

" He probably fears death," Sergeant Coleman told her, and Hazel smirked slightly. 

" In war if you fear death, you become it." he told her and Hazel nodded, " Accepting death is the only way you survive." 

As May approached with warmer weather just behind it, so did information on some of the battles in the Pacific, or the sinking of ships in the Atlantic from U-Boats, with information flying rapidly through the newspapers on the front page of each and every big name paper in every country. 

Lizzie came in with the paper that evening, the title _U-Boat Hysteria_ displayed at the top of the page, typed across it. The U-Boats practically controlled the Atlantic, it was a miracle that the girls had gotten across when they could. 

The pictures were horrifying. 

Stuff like that usually sent Catherine into a whole new dimension, even besides the crap from Christopher Jenkins. She was hungry for war and everything they had to do with it. She was tired of hearing things happen and still be found sitting here, watching it in front of her and not be able to do a thing. Lizzie was more apt to talk Catherine off the ledge though.

" I swear, the minute I get into war, I'm shooting every Kraut in a 100 mile radius." Catherine spat one night, as she slumped down on bed.

" Hey, Cath," Lizzie said sitting beside her on the bed and gently rubbing her back, " we'll get there soon, but this training, we need it."

" I know," Catherine sighed, running a hand over her face, " it's just I'm tired of hearing all this stuff and I'm still sitting here on this bunk." 

" We all are." Hazel said softly and Catherine smiled sadly. 

_____________________

Lena Parker had been outside, watering the plants in her vegetable garden as the hot Tennessee sun beat down on her back, Daisy lapping at a bowl of water, when footsteps approached her.

" Are you Ms. Parker?" Lena turned and stood to face a group of men, a bunch of farmers from the county farm. 

" Yes, I am." Lena said stepping forward.

" Formally, Mrs. Hilton?" he asked. She nodded. That was before her husband had up and left. Parker would always be her maiden name, and be the one she used the rest of her life. 

" We were just wondering where your daughter is, she hasn't stopped by to pick up your annual supply of groceries yet." he said.

" She didn't tell you?" Lena asked them. The farmer raised a brow.

" She signed up for the WAC, the Women's Army Corps." Lena said.

" That so?" another farmer asked. Lena nodded. 

" She's doing exceptionally well," Lena said to him.

" She gonna visit soon, we'd love to show her the new chickens we have." the farmer said. Lena's blood ran cold. 

" No, actually, she's in the top command, she has to remain there, in San Diego." Lena told them. The farmer raised a brow at her.

" Charity Wells from down the street just came back on leave from the WAC, so we thought your daughter would be back. She couldn't get a break?" the farmer asked.

" No, she just told me in her most recent letter. They had her doing all sorts of stuff up there. It's crazy. She's doing lots of training, to then train other WAC members." Lena explained. One of the other farmers in the back was looking at her oddly. Daisy growled but Lena just gripped her collar.

" Is there anything else you need?" Lena asked the trio. 

" No," the lead farmer said, " but when she does finally get a chance to visit, tell her to stop on by." Lena nodded with a small forced smile, her heart racing.

" I will," Lena said with a nod. The lead farmer smiled and then turned away the second one following. The third looked at her as she stood there. 

" Why hasn't she visited?" he asked her.

" Like I said, she's growing close to top command there and doesn't have much time to visit on break." Lena told him, " Now if you could please get off my property, I have things to attend to and do." The farmer watched her and then glared. 

Lena watched the 3 men retreat back down the road as Daisy's growl finally subsided. Lena let go of her collar and then sighed, running a hand over her face. She never had told a soul about Hazel's whereabouts right now, across the world in England, attached to an Airborne Division and she never would, if that's what it took. Lena was her mother and would protect her daughter until the end of her days, even if it meant lying to the fullest extent.

" Come on Daisy, let's head inside and cool you off." Lena said, patting the dog's head softly, and grabbing her tools, before leading the dog inside. She shut the door behind her and locked it gently before heading down the tiny hall to the large kitchen and sitting room and window that overlooked the mountains. Lena slowly leaned back against the counter and sighed. 

She prayed for her daughter's safety each and every night, each meal and each time she left the house. She always prayed for Hazel. Hazel was the person she loved the most in her life and she had watched her grow from a child to a young adult, even without her father. She was strong because of it, because the two women had each other. She just wished Hazel could find that same comfort in the two women she talked about, Lizzie and Catherine. 

Because having women like that in her life, could aid her through anything because sometimes, you may think you are strong enough but sometimes you need women like that. 

And Lena knew that. 

_____________________

Hazel found herself being able to go into wrestling matches with some of the British men when they were fooling around or waiting around for their training. One of the guys she was fighting, a British lad from London who had joined up in the war at 17, named Thomas Stevenson, was a tall man for his age of 21, but Hazel, being the tiny, rather scrawny person she was, had taken him down within seconds and had pretty much scared the shit out of everyone. She was like this tiny speed bullet, that had quickly wrapped him down on the ground, holding him down as he tapped out quickly.

" Where'd you learn to the do that?" one of the guys had asked. 

" My Sergeant's been helping me." Hazel said with a small smile. 

Hazel wasn't the only one though of the women who was becoming even more toned and brawn. 

Catherine worked with Sergeant Greg Sanderson all the time, a member of the Special Forces with Sergeant Coleman, and she was being trained similarly to Hazel, but instead with her Thompson. 

Lizzie was working under Doc Donald Ethridge, who was basically the male version of Lizzie, a blond haired medic with bright blue eyes, who had a funny personality and could get all the girls with heart eyes by anything he said. He was one of the kindest people, but he was also highly intelligent and taught Lizzie some of the greatest skills she would end up needing in the future. Lizzie could have your arm wrapped in under 10 seconds, and morphine injected into your body. Hazel had to admit, but the women were skilled. 

Christopher Jenkins was having a hard time accepting that, watching as Hazel fired shot after shot with Sergeant Coleman and hit the bullseye each time, or when Lizzie would grapple one of the guys from the 82nd to the ground, and clean him straight out with betting money, or even when Catherine would show him up in how much she could drink down in shots or in beer. 

She had a stomach of steel. 

Each woman was intimidating, and it intimidated each man, even if some were too scared to admit it. 

Hazel received letters from her mother all the time, the Private that was in charge of mail was constantly in and out of the barracks with letters for Hazel. And Hazel was always overjoyed reading them and just seeing her mother through the page again. 

So, there Hazel sat, leaned up against the outside of the barrack, looking out at the setting sun over the base as the stars slowly made their appearance. She immediately saw Cassiopeia, and then she saw Sirius. They were her favorites, she tended to look at them the most. She glanced back down at the letter that was in the process of being written to her mother. In her previous letters, there had never been a message about her dad, but in this one, there was a slight mention and it had made Hazel's heart skip a beat.

_Your father just sent a letter the other day, asking how you were doing, if you could write to him. He was discussing reconnecting with you. I told him that you were in the WAC, and weren't sure if you had time to send him a letter. But also remember the last we talked, face to face, that you still were planning on not reconnecting and I respect each and every decision you make, but I would still consider even a small note or letter to him. To get closure or get something off your chest. I know you haven't talked since before, and I feel it would be healthy to do. But I trust you to do whatever you need to do._

Hazel felt tears well in her eyes, as her tiny fists clamped tighter around the paper in her hands. She couldn't read the words anymore, as the first few tears slowly fell down her freckled cheeks. 

Hazel put a hand to her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut as she tried not to cry. The thought of communicating with her father again broke her heart. Because he had broken hers, by leaving her, as an innocent child, forced to grow up faster than she wanted. 

And on Christmas. 

Christmas no longer was Christmas to her and she felt that she had her childhood ripped from her that night. 

She'd never get it back. 


	16. looming war

" Never lose hope! Tomorrow could be the day you've been waiting for."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

" Hazel!" a voice said and Hazel looked up to see Lizzie there with a wide grin on her face. That positive grin fell from her face once she saw Hazel's features. 

" Aw Hazel." whispered Lizzie as Lizzie slowly dropped to all fours next to Hazel and wrapped the woman in a warm side hug. In the hug, Hazel felt so secure and safe and it was what let the quiet cry past her lips. Lizzie held Hazel closer to her, rocking the innocent girl softly back and forth, brushing through her hair, rubbing her shoulder, holding her securely. 

The pain that was in Hazel's cries hurt Lizzie. 

Lizzie was generally a pretty positive person, and she cracked a few jokes here and there, but hearing her friend, a woman she thought of as her sister, crying, pained Lizzie's youthful heart.

" It's ok, Hazel, it'll all be ok." Lizzie whispered softly, as Hazel let another cry past her lips. Lizzie had never seen Hazel cry before. Hazel just on the outside, didn't seem like the type of person to break down and start crying over the tiniest thing; Lizzie was more apt to do that. Hazel just seemed so innocent and genuine, that it really didn't seem like her to crying in front of someone, it didn't seem like her. Hazel had never broken down in front of someone before and she barely did in front of her mother, even though she trusted her mother with her life. 

" Hey there you two are." a voice said and Lizzie was the only one who looked up to meet Catherine's eyes. Catherine's eyes softened. Catherine slowly crouched down in front of Hazel, and reached forward to brush softly against the girl's head.

" I'm sorry," Hazel whispered, as her voice broke, shaking her head, " I'm sorry." 

" Hey, hey Hazel look at me, don't ever say sorry to either of us ok?" Catherine said gently, as Lizzie squeezed her tightly. Hazel nodded, as Catherine gently wiped the tear from Hazel's face. Hazel's mind was in shambles, too many thoughts running through her brain, or too many different irrational fears spiraling out of control, something she had always struggled with. Eventually, as the women sat there, in a soft quiet of the night, as the stars finally made their grand appearance.

" You wanna head inside?" Catherine asked Hazel softly, as Hazel's eyes remained distant and filled with what looked like fear. Catherine slowly stood, but Hazel reached out to stop her, her face unchanging in expression. Catherine looked at Hazel's tiny hand on her arm and then glanced at Hazel. 

" Hazel-"

" There's something you both deserve to know." Hazel whispered, slowly pulling her hand back from Catherine's arm and tucking it against her body again comfortably. Catherine and Lizzie glanced at each other before looking at Hazel.

" Did it have to do with the letter?" Lizzie asked softly. Hazel nodded slowly against her. 

Catherine's heart was in her throat. 

She never believed that in joining Virago Company, she'd become as attached as she was to the women she was with now, or becoming so emotionally invested, to the point where she felt like her heart was in her throat. That's where her relationships always failed with virtually anyone; she never could get emotionally invested, but people still followed her. It was a tough situation. Hazel was like a sister to her, and watching Hazel curled practically in fetal position against Lizzie, looking filed with fear, struck something in Catherine.

" I'll sit here all night, Hazel, take your time." Catherine said as she slowly got comfortable again in front of Hazel. Hazel looked up at Catherine, someone she's always admired, who went to college, had everyone loving her, and was equally as intelligent and level-headed as anyone would want to be. 

" My dad left my family," Hazel whispered, it was horrid thing to even discuss. A man leaving his wife and child for what? Lizzie felt tears well in her own eyes, as Catherine looked away, her throat turning dry.

" Hazel-"

" Please don't sympathize me," Hazel whispered looking at them, " so many people have said how they're sorry over the past 11 years of my life, and I'm so tired of hearing it. So please, it's just something I've always had to deal with." Catherine glanced at Lizzie. Hazel's eyes welled with tears.

" He couldn't take it, all the financial pressure of the Great Depression. He got drunk most nights, and he started sleeping with other women, going around wasting money on cheep drinks and then coming home to his actual family, to my mother and I. He wanted to escape it." Hazel whispered. A tear streaked down Hazel's face, memories of Christmas Eve 1932 flying through her brain. 

" He left on Christmas Eve." Hazel whispered. Catherine's heart shattered and Lizzie's eyes welled with tears further.

Before her father left, Hazel had always loved Christmas, the entire thing. The Christmas music, the snow, the feeling of safety with family and love, being able to feel the warmth in the cold, walking through the streets with hot chocolate that burned your throat as you looked at all the holiday displays. Christmas turned sad after 1932. Her mother could barely afford to keep the house, and some days they even went without meals. And her father had left without a care for them, and now he comes crawling back, wanting to make amends, to talk to her?

" And now he wants to talk to me again and start writing." Hazel whispered, " But I can't." 

" You don't ever have to if you don't want to, Hazel, and you remember that." Catherine said looking at the girl, " You control your world and you control who you want in it."

" Would God consider it sin if I don't let him back into my life?" Hazel whispered. Lizzie smiled softly.

" God doesn't want you to suffer, Hazel. Sure, you may go through those rough patches, but he has good intent. If there's a bad thing that was once in your life, he wouldn't bring it back just to hurt you again." Lizzie said softly, " I live by that."

" He only brings the good you need, which stays with you. The bad will be there for a bit and leave, hopefully where you won't see it again." Lizzie said softly. Hazel nodded against her and even smiled softly. 

" Thank you," Hazel whispered. Lizzie and Catherine smiled softly.

" Can you sit here and watch the stars with me?" Hazel asked the two women softly. 

" Anything you want." Catherine said as she slowly crawled over to sit beside Hazel as the 3 women, sat close together, looking up towards the stars, towards the hope that will guide them through war, away from their past and toward their looming future. 

Within the coming weeks, Hazel had worked up the courage to write her mother and tell her that she would not be writing her father any time soon, for her own sake and for the war's sake. Hazel had to remain focused and she couldn't be worrying about her father, whom she had long ago pushed from her life and was hoping wouldn't magically pop back in.

On a Monday in July, Hazel had lumbered back towards where she was to meet Sergeant Coleman after hours of deliberation about sending the letter to her mother. But she had finally sent it, with a pit of snakes in her stomach, making her unable to even force a bit of toast on her measly stomach. 

When Hazel arrived, Sergeant Coleman noticed her subdue, mellowed personality. Like him, she always walked in with a hello and a tiny smile. Now, she was detached and had the look of a soldier who had just seen death with the 1,000 yard stare.

" Hey, Hazel." Sergeant Coleman called over his shoulder as he pulled his own weapon out to finish off its polishing. 

" Hi." Hazel said as she took a seat on the barrel. Sergeant Coleman glanced her way, rather curiously and then took a seat beside her.

" You ok?" 

" Yeah," Hazel answered with a nod, " yeah, I'm fine." 

Sergeant Coleman looked at the women. 

He met her 7 months ago and had seen her progress simply flourish. She was taking him down to the ground quicker than any person he had trained and her shooting skills were off the charts in accuracy and consistency. But now, Hazel looked utterly anything but the fierce, humble woman who had only a month ago, thrown him on his back, with a knife to his throat on one of the tougher training moments.

" C'mon what's bothering you?" Sergeant Coleman asked her. Hazel glanced his way. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't want to tell him the truth of her blandness. A little subtle lie wouldn't hurt anyone, and if anything it was best not to make another person worried for her sanity. 

" Just making sure I get enough rest, it's been exhausting the past few days of training." Hazel said with a nod, " Kept getting dreams last night."

" Ahh, right, the military dreams." Sergeant Coleman said. Hazel had never felt worse about lying to someone like Sergeant Coleman, but right now it was for the best.

" Yeah, not the best, but I'll be fine." Hazel admitted to him with a nod, having trouble meeting his intense gaze.

" Alright, well, we'll take it easier today, let's try some simple weaponry, a little bit of stance work and we'll be done, that ok?" Sergeant Coleman asked her and she nodded with a small smile. 

She always felt confident with her weapon in hand; she knew every inch of the weapon, all its ins-and-outs, how it worked, what made it really click, what made it the weapon it was. And it didn't even have a mouth to speak to her, but she trusted the weapon she held in her grip. 

Even though a weapon was associated with death, maybe this could do a little more good than harm. 

She hoped. 

July faded into a blistering hot August in Wiltshire, and many, many runs up to Birmingham on the weekend with the women and a few of the British soldiers who would show the women around. 

But it also meant that Sergeant Jenkins would come back to taunt them. 

The 82nd had recently performed Operation Husky, or the Allied Invasion of the tiny island off of Italy called Sicily. The 82nd came back in late August with all sorts of stories from their time there, what the combat jump was like the 6 week invasion period, all of it. Even pushing to the Mediterranean. 

The stories were endless and intimidating. 

A few of the guys even said they'd seen a guys head cleaned right off his shoulders. Hazel saw that image in her mind the following nights. 

Sergeant Jenkins taunts were relentless, in every way they could be, talking about how they'd be the first to die if they were to jump. How they weren't strong enough, how they were not mentally strong enough for the struggles of war. 

But who was? 

Who in any way was mentally strong enough to face those horrors as a human being? As someone, watching their friends die in front of them, or seeing a bullet take the life from someone's once lively eyes? 

How were you supposed to be mentally strong the entire time? 

Hazel felt emotions, even when hard to portray for her, were something that showed you were always human, that you were still alive and breathing. 

Emotions were pivotal of the human being, whether you expressed them like Lizzie or hid them like Hazel did, or toyed with them like Catherine. 

Everyone, man and woman, have emotions. 

It's only normal to have emotional reactions to horrifying events such as the ones Sergeant Jenkins described. That's why Hazel stopped giving in emotionally to what he taunted her with. Because he was too irrational; he didn't even sound human. And Hazel didn't like people like that.

" You know, in Sicily, the Italians had the Scotti or the Cannone-Mitragliera 20/77, I saw it even take down a few of those C-47s." Sergeant Jenkins said in Catherine's ear one day as she was cleaning her weapon up. 

Sergeant Jenkins always seemed to be popping up around the women now, telling them things about the 82nd's jump. The women, they could honestly care less. If anything, the 101st still hadn't even left to come to England yet, and it wasn't like they were going to take part in the goddamn invasion of Italy right?

" That's great, Sergeant, but at the moment, I have my lessons with Sergeant Sanderson and you probably have somewhere else to be bitching, so if you don't mind, leave me alone." Catherine said, looking up at him with a grim stare. 

" Catherine McCown, I always wondered why they decided to let you in."

" You might be surprised, I actually have something called an IQ." Catherine said as she looked back down at her weapon. 

" That so?"

" Are you just here to annoy me? Because if so, you can leave. I have better things to do than sit hear and listen to you run your mouth." Catherine said and stood with her weapon. Sergeant Jenkins stopped her, with a hand on her shoulder.

" You won't survive one day in combat." Sergeant Jenkins hissed quietly. Catherine narrowed her eyes.

" I saw men there, who jumped and never showed up again. I saw men, who jumped and got injured and now can never return to combat. I saw men die there. You might just be one of them." Sergeant Jenkins spat. 

" The war's not over yet, Sergeant," Catherine said glancing at him up and down, " I may die on that jump, but you may as well, too." Catherine then, reached up and forcefully removed his hand from her shoulder and stepped past him toward where Sergeant Sanderson was. 

Sergeant Jenkins watched the confident and clearly unfazed woman head off for training, a sneer in his angry glance her way. He was intimidated by her confidence, her clear ability to outsmart one psychologically, and the ability to make him even more angered when the purpose he came here for was her to be the angrier one. Now he was miserable. 

Lizzie had been with Doc Ethridge when Sergeant Jenkins came lumbering in, a regular occurrence, to come and talk with Ethridge, who would usually turn a nose upward and face Lizzie again, ignoring the glare from Jenkins. 

And then Jenkins would start in on Lizzie, and Lizzie was tired of it. Sure, Lizzie was a positive woman, and a fairly happy one, at least she tried to be, but once someone started in on her so many times, she was fed up and completely done with it.

" Sergeant Jenkins, it's a wonder you're back." Lizzie called without looking up and towards the man, " I'd say the amount of times you're in here, that you might just have a crush on me." 

" Don't flatter yourself, Elliot." Sergeant Jenkins called as he entered the aid station and stood in front of her. Lizzie didn't even look up, she just shook her head with a smirk. She could feel Sergeant Jenkin's intense, angry, gaze dawning down on her.

" You think that _oh so angry gaze_ is gonna intimidate me right? Because it intimidates all those women you sleep with, right?" Lizzie said as she looked up, and went back into the storage room with notes from her clipboard. When Lizzie reappeared with the supplies in hand, Sergeant Jenkins was glaring at her. 

" C'mon, there's a reason you're here. You don't scare me. I've seen and heard a lot worse than from a cockroach like you." Lizzie said. Lizzie stared at him.

" Hm, no answer?" she asked him. Lizzie was tactical and smart. Sergeant Jenkins was the man who used intimidation to get what he wanted; Lizzie wasn't fazed by that in any sort. 

" What do you want?" Lizzie asked him, " Because if you're here to tell about that Scotti from your jump into Sicily, I don't give 2 shits ok?" Lizzie then held back and shut her eyes for a moment. She was never one to usually curse, but when fired up, the curses flew. She would have to do a lot of praying to God later for her mouth.

" Listen, I know that the jump was important, with the war and all, but I'm not in the 82nd. None of these women are. And you keep wandering over from where ever you slither out of, just to annoy us as we train for what we need to train for. So stay in the 82nd, we are part of the 101st, something you are clearly not a part of. So if you would please, Doc Ethridge will be here any moment, and we have training to go over." Lizzie said, as she looked back down at the clipboard. 

" You won't make it one day past war." snapped Sergeant Jenkins. Lizzie looked up at him sharply.

" Have a little positivity for Christ-sake." Lizzie snapped at him. Sergeant Jenkins seemed to pale looking at her.

" There an issue here?" a voice called and Lizzie looked over Sergeant Jenkins' shoulder to see Doc Ethridge.

" No problem here." Lizzie said looking right into Sergeant Jenkins' eyes. Sergeant Jenkins glared at her before stalking away. Doc Ethridge looked at him go and then Lizzie.

" He's always hanging around here," he said as he came over, removing his helmet from his head to stand beside Lizzie.

" I sorta told him off, he's the 82nd. What's he even doing coming over here all the time?" Lizzie pondered shaking her head with a sigh. 

" If anything, he's intimidated by you 3 ladies and is verbally trying to back off the intimidation factor, make him feel better about himself," Ethridge commented, " it's clearly not working." Lizzie chuckled as Ethridge smirked. It most definitely wasn't. 

The 3 Virago women weren't just women in a nearby English village, unmarried, looking for a husband, sleeping with any man they saw. 

They were women, who held rank, who held uniform, who fired weapon's, saved lives, were highly intelligent and were used to the berating by now by that of the few men who would come under fire on them. 

They were women of the military, and they would have to be accepted for that, even if people would only accept it on their death bed. 

September brought about a certain change and not just that of the weather. 

Colonel Burton, a member of some of the forces of the BAF, had informed the 3 women that the rumors were true; the 101st had set sail on the USS Samaria to England; they would be meeting very soon.


	17. easy company

" The unexpected moment is always sweeter."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Hazel's stomach turned to unforgiving knots of worrying that always found their way there, but Catherine and Lizzie had reassured her enough that there was nothing to be worried about. 

The 101st were presumably not the same as the 82nd, even if they were both American men. 

Hazel hoped that they at least had some ounce of respect to throw, because Hazel would respect them back. 

Hazel started realizing in that all the worrying she was doing, she was taking down Sergeant Coleman in hand-to-hand training in mere seconds now, with the mass of built up strength in her body, it was now easy to throw him over her shoulder to the ground, or when he put her in a headlock, to simply kick him in the groin. Her weaponry was through the roof and Hazel put it all on Sergeant Coleman for honing in her skills and ability to its peak. 

On a September afternoon, Hazel was out with Sergeant Coleman again, working through a few rounds on her sniper, as she lied on her stomach in the boiling heat, her back sweltering as the sun beat down on her. Any day now, the girls and her were supposed to be meeting Easy. But each and every day they were given no news or updates, so Hazel continued her intense training with Coleman. She fired round after round, cleaning a perfect spot on the target, something she was getting better each time at doing. 

She became one of the most accurate in the land.

" Sergeant Coleman!" a voice called out and Hazel stopped her firing for a moment as Coleman stood up beside her.

" Colonel Sink." Sergeant Coleman said, as Hazel turned and watched the two men shake hand and exchange engagements.

" Corporal Parker," the man, Colonel Sink, said as he walked over and crouched beside her. 

" Good afternoon, sir." she said as she looked up from her rifle. Sink smiled and looked out to the target with a wise eye.

" Seems you haven't missed yet today, Corporal." 

" No, sir, I've been out here since 11." she explained.

" Mind showing these gents what they've been missing?" Sink asked as Hazel raised a confused brow. Sink nodded his head to her right and Hazel looked over to see a multitude of Lieutenants and a slew of NCOs. Hazel's eyes widened further. Easy Company, the 101st. The paratroopers. Her heart slowly picked up pace.

" Sir," she said as Sink patted her shoulder.

" It was wonderful meeting you Corporal Parker, why not show off for a change." Sink suggested and Hazel nodded, knowing she had to follow his order. Sink stepped back with a nod to Coleman who crouched by Hazel's side.

" I don't want it to look like I'm bragging," Hazel said to Coleman as he looked at her with his dark brown eyes. He smiled at her.

" I don't think that'll be considered bragging in anyone's book. They've all heard about you." Coleman told her. Hazel raised her brow further.

" They know all about you and your training just the same as Lizzie and Catherine. It's only right you prove it without having to say a single word." Coleman told her. 

" Right," Hazel said as Coleman squeezed her shoulder. Hazel turned, pushing the thought that members of the company she'd be going into were watching her every move. 

Hazel slowly adjusted the helmet on her head, which concealed her hair. She gently pressed her cheek against the pad on the rifle and swallowed thickly, as she clicked her scope a few times into its highest magnification. 

All this was done in the silence that swallowed the outside world in the countryside of England. Hazel then slowly drew her hand back to resting near the barrel of the weapon, and shifted her hand a bit to get it comfortable against the weapon. 

Then, Hazel gently put her finger on the trigger, but didn't pull it yet. She waited a few moments, as a few birds chirped in the trees in the distance, and the wind brushed against the leaves. She blocked everything out; Coleman by her side, Sink behind her, the men from her company, her officers watching her. 

She only looked at the target in front of her, which would soon enough be someone's head. She sucked in a breath to steady the shaky scope and zeroed in on the bright, red target. Then she fired a single shot. A crack whipped across the entire field, as the bullet sizzled, flying through the air and hit smack dab in the center of the target. 

For good measure, Hazel finished out the rest of the magazine in there. 

When Hazel finished, she heard murmurs from the group of officers and NCOs to her right. She didn't have to move her head, only her precise visionary eyes towards them to see surprise and intimidation masked along a few of their faces.

" C'mon, Hazel." Coleman said to her patting her shoulder as she quickly scooted back from the rifle and stood up with the weapon firmly gripped in her arms. She could only imagine the surprised faces the men were making, when they saw how short the sniper they were receiving was. And that she was in fact female and a member of Virago Company. It was intended that only Colonel Sink knew of the Virago reception. 

" I'm pretty sure you just intimidated the hell out of them. That marker was 500 yards away." Coleman said as the two approached Colonel Sink. Hazel softly smiled.

" Well, Corporal, I'm pretty sure you just impressed some of the hardest to impress members of the 506th." Sink said as Hazel stopped in front of him. 

" Thank you, sir." Hazel said.

" She's been training hard, one of the best I know." Coleman said and Sink smiled.

" How about you come meet these gentlemen?" Sink asked her as Hazel glanced up at him.

" Yes, sir." Hazel said as her heart slowly raced. She envisioned this moment of meeting her company officers with Catherine and Lizzie by her side. Instead she walked along, with a giant rifle and scope in her tiny arms, under the hot sun with too many pairs of eyes looking her way. 

" Gents, I'd like you to meet Corporal Parker." Sink called as Hazel, Coleman and him approached the group. Hazel's eyes immediately went to the ginger-haired Lieutenant who stood with a small smile and wise eyes.

The name upon the breast was _Winters_. 

'Winters' gave a smile to her. 

Hazel's eyes then wandered the group, noticing a few other Lieutenants as well as Sergeants and Staff-Sergeants who she assumed made up the majority of NCOs of the company, reminding her of her favorite NCOs Barbara Miller and Laura Fernsby. She hoped they were doing ok, where ever they were. They were all watching her, speechless it seemed. Hazel slowly reached up and removed the helmet from her head, letting her hair fall out in a messy ponytail, smoothed back by sweat. Hazel slowly ran a hand over her hair and then looked towards the group. Their eyes were wide in shock and surprise, and it seemed no one knew how to react.

" That's why you were so tiny." she heard someone whisper out in a shocked, choked voice it seemed. Hazel smiled slightly. 

" Corporal Parker, Hazel Parker. She's a member of the Viragos and will be joining Easy as the equivalent of a sniper." Sink explained, as many still couldn't remove their eyes from Hazel to look at Sink, " And she will be joined by 2 other members as well." The first person to really react was the ginger-haired Lieutenant with the nice eyes. He stepped forward and held out his hand towards her.

" I'm Lieutenant Richard Winters, I'm 2nd platoon's platoon leader." he said as Hazel shook his hand gratefully. Hazel noticed his hands were rough and calloused, but the pads were soft. Hardworking she figured. Hazel nodded to him. Richard Winters was a man who grew up respecting women of the household, especially his mother, who ran it. So, when he had first heard about the Viragos, just like the rest of the men, that's when people began to wonder if the 101st would receive a member. So, now standing here in front of one, who was a sniper and carried herself with a proud, humble stance, he knew he could respect the young woman in front of him. 

" Lieutenant Lewis Nixon," Nixon said as he began shaking their hands, " Intelligence Officer." Nixon seemed to have a sarcastic glint in his eye, as a go-with-the-flow sorta guy, with dark brown hair, and a smirk that played constantly on his lips.

" Lieutenant Walter Moore," Walter said as he shook their hands as well, " I lead 3rd platoon." The Lieutenant seemed like the guy your dad would be happy about bringing home, with the blonde, All-American hair, bright blue eyes, and a firm handshake.

" And I'm Lieutenant Harry Welsh, and I lead 1st," he said as he shook all their hands. The Lieutenant was tiny that was for sure, even though the girls were still no taller than him, and he had a gap between his two teeth up front, and curl strawberry-blonde hair that reminded Hazel of Leprechauns.

" I didn't tell you all yet, because I figured that I should make sure we all survive the trip on over first." Sink said and he earned some laughs from the group as Hazel smiled. 

" Where's Captain Sobel?" Sink asked Lieutenant Winters.

" He was in a meeting last with Major Strayer." Winters told the man. Sink nodded.

" These are some of our NCOs," Winters said as he turned and pushed through the group of Lieutenants to the NCOs behind him. Hazel slowly followed him forward, remaining still fairly short amongst the members of the group.

" Line up." Winters stated as the members shuffled into a neat line, at attention. It was odd, to be respected in such a way that needed such a formal reception. It was a nice turn of events. Winters nodded to the first man. 

" Sergeant Charles Grant, ma'am." the tall, brunette man said, with gentle brown eyes, as he held out his hand towards her. Hazel gently extended her hand forward and shook his. And he smiled. It was a genuine smile. Hazel was taken back by that simple gesture. She had bunked with plenty of men from the British Army and even they weren't this respectful. Being called ma'am, having a semi-formal inspection? Maybe the Viragos were more respected than Hazel had thought. Winters moved her to the next NCO, who was shorter than Grant by a bit, but stood with a commanding presence.

" Sergeant Bill Guarnere, ma'am." the Italian man said as she shook his hand. Hazel took a glance at Winters who merely smiled at her. Bill offered a smile as well. The next man was tall and built, with curly blonde waves atop his head.

" Pleasure to meet you, ma'am, Sergeant Bull Randleman." 'Bull' stated, as he shook her hand gently. Hazel smiled as her cheeks warmed a bit from the use of the word, ma'am, in fact, she really didn't expect to be addressed in that way.

" Sergeant Floyd Talbert, ma'am." the next man said who actually brought up her hand to kiss her knuckles. She saw Winters give him a look but Hazel just smiled at him as she brought her hand back down. 

" Sergeant Myron Ranney, ma'am." the shorter man said with kind eyes which made Hazel smile. 

" Staff-Sergeant Terrence Harris, ma'am, pleasure to meet you. An honor actually." the next man said, his final sentence, causing Hazel to feel surprised herself. An honor? 

" Sergeant Johnny Martin, ma'am." the next man said with gentle eyes, similar to that of her mother's.

" And this is our Senior NCO," Winters said as they stepped in front of the final man. He was fairly tall, and had a kind smile upon his face as he watched her. 

" Sergeant Carwood Lipton, ma'am, it's nice to meet you." the man said as he shook her hand. Hazel smiled at him before dropping her hand to the side and looked to Winters.

" These are some of the finest NCOs under Captain Sobel, and they've trained hard to get to the spots they're in now and hope to lead the first members of the Easy Company into battle, including you." Winters told her as Hazel nodded looking back down at the 8 men. 

" Thank you for introducing them to me, sir." Hazel said up to Winters and Winters nodded with a smile.

" Of course," he said. 

" 'Course, half of them still don't know what Virago means, but we're leaving that out at the moment." a voice said, Nixon, stepping forward to her other side and smiling down at her. Hazel glanced up at him and smiled at him.

" Why'd they all call me ma'am?" Hazel asked the two men. Winters and Nixon seemed to look at each other before looking back down at her. 

" Viragos are one of the elite units in the military, they deserve that distinction." Winters informed her and Hazel was even more surprised as he said so.

" Thank you for that wonderful introduction Lieutenant Winters." Sink said as he stepped forward.

" Of course, sir." Winters said with a nod.

" Corporal Parker is not the only member of the Viragos joining us, so if we can start to head back to the barracks, then we can meet the two other Viragos joining the company." Sink explained. The group began walking in the general direction back to the base in Wiltshire, Hazel and Sergeant Coleman sticking close to the front near Sink and Winters. 

" Where are you from, Corporal?" Winters asked her. Hazel looked up towards him.

" Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, sir. Born and raised." she said smiling up at him. Winters smiled at her, he had a nice smile. 

" Corporal Parker, tell Lieutenant Winters about the 9 months of training you've had this year." Sink said as he looked towards her.

" Sergeant Coleman has been the one to help me through my expanded training as a sniper, sir. He's really helped sharpen my skills and help me improve to get better." Hazel said as she looked towards Winters. 

" Well, I'm glad." Winters said with a nod, " We've heard about the Viragos, but we weren't sure if we would be getting one or not." Hazel smiled.

" I'm glad to be here, sir." Hazel told him. As the group approached the base, Hazel immediately noticed Catherine working with Sergeant Sanderson. She was working with her Thompson and Hazel noticed how she hit her target each and every time. Hazel smiled. 

" Gents, take watch, this is the 2nd Virago joining us. She could take your head off." Sink called and Hazel glanced back, noticing some surprised looks from some of the NCOs. As they approached, Catherine removed her helmet with a sigh as a similar sweaty ponytail appeared, as she laughed at something Sanderson said to her, her laugh infectious with a bright smile.

" Colonel Sink." Sanderson suddenly said as the group slowly showed. Catherine met the eyes of Hazel who she recognized beside the man and raised and brow. Hazel nodded. 

" Sergeant Sanderson, Sergeant McCown, pleasure, I'd like to introduce you to officers and NCOs of Easy." Sink told Catherine who smoothed her hands down on her uniform, wiping sweat from them, with a bright smile. Introductions went similarly, and Catherine was given the title, ma'am, as well, and the men were very receptive as well of Catherine, impressed by her skills and her easy going nature. As the group moved into base to meet up with Lizzie, Catherine went up to Hazel's side.

" Ma'am?" Catherine asked Hazel softly and Hazel smiled softly at her.

" Who would've thought? They're so respectful." Hazel said quietly. Catherine and Lizzie smiled as they approached the aid station. Sink went inside and came out with a wide eyed Lizzie, who had bandages pooling from the medic satchel on her shoulder. She nervously smiled at the group.

" Gents, this is Corporal Elizabeth Elliot, who's trained as a combat medic and has become one of the best in the Army, even out of the British Army." Sink explained as Winters introduced her to the Lieutenants and NCOs. It went very similarly. Finally, the NCOs were allowed to drop their guards and actually talk to the women as Sink called the Lieutenants to a meeting and to hopefully find Sobel. As the women approached the men, Bill Guarnere was the one to call out to them with a smile.

" Parker, I thought you were just some really short guy shooting out there." Bill said and Hazel smirked.

" I figured that's what you all thought." Hazel said as she whipped some sweat from her brow. 

" I think all the guys are gonna be excited when they find out we got some Viragos in the company." Charles said as he nodded over to an area of the barracks.

" We've just been excited to finally join up with you guys, we've waited so long." Lizzie admitted, brushing some hair behind her ears with a smile.

" How'd you all sign up for this?" Johnny asked them.

" We all initially came from different areas like the WAC, SPARs, and Cadet Nurses' Corps," Catherine said, " and then when we heard about Operation Virago, I feel each one of us knew we had to sign up." 

" Sink showed us videos of your training," Bull said nodding to them, " but he never mentioned a thing about you joining us so that's why we were so surprised."

" That's what I had figured first," Hazel said laughing lightly, and the group smiled. 

" You wanna come meet the guys?" Floyd asked them, " They'd want to meet you all."

" I mean, if you want," Lizzie offered with a small smile, as the group started heading towards a barrack. 

" Now, I know there may be some friendly competition between us, you know you're these badass Viragos, and we're the Screaming Eagles, but if we have a brawl we'll go easy." Bill said with a joking sound to his voice.

" I was already planning on it, figured we'd let you boys win." Catherine said back with a playing smirk as Bill laughed. 

" I can't wait to see the guys' faces when they realize we're the company that gets to fight with Viragos." Charles said shaking his head, " I mean a bunch of douche-bags from Dog were all saying they were getting a few members in June and never got 'em. I mean to say we're excited is a bit of an understatement."

" Really?" Hazel asked him and Chuck nodded as a few others agreed. 

" You're all famous amongst the military at least, we all think you're badass." Floyd said, " I mean you're basically Amazon Warriors."

" And boy have we not heard that one before." Catherine said as chuckles rose among the group. It was so weirdly _casual_. 

Casual in a way like they were old friends meeting each other after a while, but the men of Easy reminded Hazel of the British, who had been a bit softer than the brash Americans. But the Easy men were welcoming and inviting and it was like they were wanted. The women didn't know how they'd be received at first, especially since they were women. Gender always seemed to affect things these days, but with the time period of war at the moment, it's like that was out of the question. One look at Hazel shooting that weapon seemed to set off the men.

" The only thing about fucking England that's been exciting so far." Johnny said as they approached the barrack, " It's not everyday you're told you get to go to war with Viragos." Hazel smiled gleefully towards him and Johnny smiled at her. Viragos were truly known now and still kept secret for the publics sake and it was a relief for it to be taken seriously. But by now, so many other countries had women fighting on their front lines, like the female Soviet snipers, or the British women who flew planes and were spies, or even some of the American women who were spies, it was time to put American women onto the front lines and earn an ounce of respect. It was deserving and wonderful change of pace. 

When the barrack opened, there were guys everywhere, but it was a calm atmosphere.

" Hey, guys!" Lip called, " You'll never guess who our new members are." 

" Tell me we got a Virago, Lip, please. I want to see them clean a Kraut's head clean off." one man pleaded coming forward.

" Well it's your lucky day." Lip said as the group shuffled away from the women and the men's eyes of the barrack went wide in shock. 

" No fucking way." the same man said, eyes wide as he approached the women, multiple wide eyed men behind them. 

" Yes fucking way." Catherine answered and the guy smiled. 

A big, toothy grin.


	18. the men of easy company

" The most memorable moments in our life are special not because of the place or time, it's because of the person with whom we experience happiness."

_\- Hema_

✰✰✰

The man didn't hesitate to launch himself into a hug around Catherine's neck.

" Oh come on, George you're scaring her." a tiny Italian said as he pulled 'George' back.

" Sorry, I got excited." 'George' said with a smile on his face, " Well I suspect you two deserve hugs as well." And George didn't hesitate to walk over and wrap his arms around Hazel and pull her close in a warm hug before doing the same to Lizzie who was equally as surprised.

" Quite the welcome." Lizzie commented as George stepped back and laughed.

" Only the best for the Easy Company Viragos." George said. 

" George.....?" Lizzie asked him and he smiled as the rest of the men watched him.

" The very own George Luz from Rhode Island." George said with another smile as the girls all seemed to smile in their own ways. 

" Or the annoying asshole which ever you prefer." the tiny Italian said as the girls laughed.

" Alright, alright, Frank, enough with the asshole." George said giving the tiny man an annoyed shove. 

" Besides those two, these are some of the best men in the Airborne, some of the finest. But just wait until you have to start living with them, it's a shit show." another man said as he walked up to the women with a smirk on his smug face, " I'm Joe Toye."

" Like you're any better." George puffed out. Joe rolled his eyes. 

" Welcome to Easy," Joe offered as the NCOs slowly made their way to their beds or leaning against posts, " you all want to close your jaws and actually introduce yourselves?" Hazel watched as there were introductions, and shaking hands as well as laughter and talking.

" This is the sniper, Shifty," a voice said and Hazel looked over her shoulder and watched as Floyd was pushing someone toward her, who was looking at Floyd, rather annoyed. 

" Hi," Hazel said.

" I have 2 feet, Tab." 'Shifty' said with a soft southern accent. Floyd just chuckled and patted his shoulder. 

" Snipers and their southern accents, am I right?" Floyd said as both Hazel and 'Shifty' watched him. He got no response.

" Right, ok, Shifty, Hazel, Hazel, Shifty." Floyd said quickly as Hazel looked at Shifty and shook his soft hand, where he smiled a perfect smile her way. 

" Darrell Powers, ma'am, but they call me Shifty around here." Shifty said as they shook hands and her face heated. Again with the ma'am.

" She doesn't seem to like to be called that Shifty, c'mon." Floyd said nudging his shoulder as Shifty's own face turned a shade of red. 

" You called me ma'am." Hazel said defending Shifty. Shifty glared up at Floyd, with innocent eyes.

" Fine, you caught me." Floyd said, " What can I say, you deserve the title." He looked at her, suggestively. Hazel just smirked at him and shook her head. 

" Tab told me about the shots you were taking out there, when the NCOs showed up. Sounds amazing; whatever weapon you're using." Shifty said. Hazel smiled gently.

" It's this design that only Marines use, the M1903A4, and an attached Redfield Scope, of a Remington design. It's supposed to resemble a sniper." Hazel said and Shifty's eyes shined. 

" Wow, you'll have to show me-"

" Alright, alright, enough with the weapon talk." Floyd said, as Shifty glared at him it seemed. Shifty didn't seem one to glare either.

" 'Eh! There's the sniper we've been hearing about." a voice called and Hazel watched as a trio moved. 

" C'mon we're still talking to her." Floyd complained.

" We have a whole war to fight, Floyd. You'll get plenty of other chances to try out tacky pick up lines and get nowhere." the red-headed one of the group said. " Screw you, Don." Floyd muttered, shaking his head as 'Don' laughed. 

" Warren Muck, but for friends, I go by Skip." the man who had first spoke, calling out for the sniper said, holding out his hand. Hazel shook his hand with a smile on her lips.

" Damn, you have a beautiful smile." the man 'Don' said as he walked up with a smile on his face and shook her head. Hazel blushed. 

" Thanks." she said.

" Donald Malarkey." he said noticing her blushing cheeks, " You ever been told that?" 

" Aw, Don, don't embarrass her." Skip complained, bringing his hands from his pockets to give his shoulder a shove, " He just prefers compliments when meeting new people." She watched Donald roll his eyes.

" Or the 'I'll buy you a drink method'." another man said with curly chocolate locks on his head and a smile on his face, " Alex Penkala." 

" Are you Polish?" Hazel asked him and she watched his eyes light up." Yeah, actually, I am." he said.

" I'm Polish as well, my grandfather's last name was switched when he came over from Warsaw." she said. Alex's eyes widened in amazement.

" Wow, really?" he said, " My great-grandfather took a voyage with a bunch of immigrants on some tiny ship across the Atlantic. Wow, you never know who you meet." Hazel smiled as Skip and Donald smiled at her.

" Polish are the kindest and I live by that." Skip said with a nod, " Irish on the other hand." Donald rolled his eyes.

" They fight about this a lot." Alex admitted as Hazel giggled.

" Well, it was nice to meet you, but we should make sure Catherine and Elizabeth know who these two are, so they know not to share a foxhole with them." Alex said with a smirk and Hazel laughed.

" Definitely." she said and Alex smiled at her before patting Skip and Donald's backs as they bickered a bit and he slowly led them away. Hazel watched them with a small smile before looking down at her hands. She'd shaken so many hands today and hadn't suspected herself to be as comfortable as she was.

" Tiny!" a voice called, and Hazel looked over slightly confused until she watched George Luz coming over, with the short, slightly angry Italian man again.

" You could've pulled me just a bit lighter, we are in a barrack, not an airfield." the short Italian said as he rubbed his wrist.

" Shut it, Frank." George said as he glared at the man.

" So, we meet again." George said as he looked at Hazel.

" I guess so." she said, with soft eyes and a small smile. 

" C'mon, George, do you gotta be like this all the time. Is there an on-off switch?" the man beside him complained.

" Frank, I'm this close," George said, showing how close his pointer and thumb were together, an angered expression upon his face.

" Oh I know." Frank said with a smirk before turning to Hazel.

" Frank Perconte," he said as Hazel shook his hand, noticing she was shorter than him even. She was short. 

" Tiny?" Hazel asked Frank, hoping he could clarify for George.

" Oh, right, George gives nicknames a lot. Especially to women he likes." Frank said with a roll of his eyes, as Hazel smiled.

" I've noticed." Hazel said as George smirked at her, and then kicked Frank's foot.

" Don't worry, he's already started half the guys nicknames here." Frank said and Hazel laughed as George groaned. 

" He's such an ass sometimes," George said looking at Frank who smirked at him.

" Glad I've retained the title," Frank said, " ah, Joe Liebgott finally crawls out from hiding." 

" Screw you, Perco." 'Joe LIebgott' said as Hazel turned and saw the man approaching her, George and Frank. 'Joe' looked tired from her point of view. He had a few strands of dark brown hair in his eyes, and he didn't at all look entirely interested at being here right now. It looked like he had just been woken from sleep if Hazel was honest.

" Joe Liebgott," Joe said holding out his hand toward her.

" Hazel Parker," Hazel said with a small smile as she shook his hand.

" You have a nice smile, sure a sight for sore eyes." Joe said to her, and Hazel fought down another blush as she looked up at Joe gently. 

" Thanks." Hazel said, as Joe smirked a bit at the pink tint on her cheeks.

" Yeah, Joe's been through it, probably needed a smile like yours." George said as he wrapped an arm over Joe's shoulder. Joe shoved him off. George just snickered. 

" Got in a fight with Bill Guarnere on the boat ride over." George said as Joe stuck his tongue in his cheek and looked away. Hazel looked over at Joe slightly. She noticed his bruised knuckles.

" Do you gotta spill my life story, George?" Joe said looking at him. 

" Oh come on, it wasn't that bad." George said as Joe rolled his eyes. Hazel just smiled sadly.

" Sorry to hear." Hazel said with a small smile, " Usually fights start because you believe in what you stand for. Sometimes that's ok." Both George and Joe looked at her and their eyes seemed to soften immediately. She just smiled softly at them. Joe glanced over at George and motioned his head for him to move. George got the memo. Joe watched George leave, roping Perconte under his arm. 

" I saw your Star of David." Joe said quietly, nodding down to her neckline. Hazel's hand went to her neck almost immediately and she grasped it.

" The reason I was in the fight was because I'm Jewish." Joe told her. Hazel's eyes softened. 

" This is actually my dziadek's, my grandfather's, he's Polish, but he was Jewish, before he became Catholic. He gave this to me before I left for the WAC, and I've just always respected my Jewish background." Hazel said looking towards Joe, who leaned up against the bed post. He smiled slightly.

" I'm sorry to hear about the fight, but I probably would've done the same." Hazel admitted, as her cheeks tinted pink again. She always believed in fighting for what you believed to be right. 

" Nah, don't worry about it. It's not the only fight I've been in." Joe said and Hazel watched something flash in his eyes. 

She was intrigued by this Joe character. Not only because he was, well, Jewish, but because Hazel and her observation skills were usually that of high-regard and she felt she could relate to Joe on a fairly personal level. 

She met a few others after meeting Joe. Eugene Roe was the medic Lizzie introduced her to and he had to be one of the nicest people, but he was a Southern boy, from his accent, and Southern boys were always respectful, like Shifty. Eugene had a nice smile Hazel felt, and Hazel heard him even speak French; he had to be of Cajun decent Hazel concluded to herself. 

There were so many others, but within the half hour, the group was sat around, chatting with each other in groups together, getting to know each other. It was so oddly peaceful that it felt unnatural, but the men were so naturally receptive. 

It was so nice to be apart of it. 

The introductions had been genuine, but they were needed. The men had been together for over a year by now and so had the women, but separate; they needed to be introduced and training soon together, for the fate of the company in war, whenever that was to happen. Hazel was glad the introductions had been now. 

But as they were sitting around, the door suddenly slammed open and everyone jumped to attention. The men were surprised at the women's quickness, but little did they know, that was Thermes' training, at 0500 giving them silent reminders.

" Where are the 3 women?" Sobel asked, his eyes immediately finding them. He slowly stepped toward them. 

" Names?" Sobel asked them.

" Hazel Parker sir, Corporal." she said. 

" Catherine McCown, sir, Sergeant."

" Elizabeth Elliot, sir, Corporal. Combat medic." Sobel looked at the 3 women. 

He had heard all about them. 

They were virtually the talk of the military of every group of men. They were true elites in their training style and what they had been trained under to do. Sure, they were women, but a vast majority of the men gained respect from them when video evidence had been sent out to inform military men of the elite women in training. It had looked intense. It wasn't what was expected of military men in this day and age now, to respect a woman who had been put into the military like that, but most of the men respected the 250 women of Virago Company. 

Herbert Sobel wasn't so sure yet, even if he did think the training was heavily intense.

" I expect the same expectations that I hold to my men, is that understood?" he said to them. 

" Yes, sir." the 3 women answered him. Sobel then stared at them for a moment before stepping back and turning and stepping out of the barrack. Quite the introduction. Bill let out a low whistle.

" I'm guessing Sink forgot to mention him?" Bill asked the trio.

" He might've." Lizzie said.

" That's Captain Sobel for ya, fucking bastard." Bill muttered shaking his head. Hazel stared after where Sobel had gone. It sounded like 'Sobel's' opinions were vastly different than the men, the enlisted. He didn't seem to care. The group went to the mess hall that night, and were able to have more time to get to know each other. Hazel sat with Chuck, Shifty, Floyd and Joe Liebgott, and got to know each of them more. 

" If you can't already tell, Sobel's an asshole." Joe said leaning towards her, " Biggest dick in the land."

" I'm pretty sure she figured that out." Chuck muttered. Joe rolled her eyes. 

" How was training with him?" Hazel asked them. All 4 men seemed to glance at each other and sigh a bit.

" Let's just say if I died and went to hell, I'd be running that stupid fucking mountain every minute of everyday." Joe told her. 

" What mountain?" she asked.

" Currahee. Down in Camp Toccoa, Sobel made us run this mountain, where it was 3 miles up and then 3 miles down." Shifty explained to her. Hazel visibly grimaced. 

" Every morning," Floyd said, " and he was mean. Still is. And cold, to everyone. I don't think I ever saw an officer who volunteered to hang out with him." The group snickered.

" Who would?" Joe said shaking his head. 

" You were running Currahee for the slightest thing, he made Smokey go up once because he didn't seem committed enough." Shifty said softly, " You went up for anything at that point."

" That sounds like my CO, Captain Thermes." Hazel said. Joe visibly grimaced beside her.

" The name even sounds like you'll have a shitty experience." Joe said.

" It was." Hazel said, " Standing out alone in the darkness as it rained or snowed, for the smallest thing, like a crooked pillow." 

" Maybe he and Sobel were brothers in their past life." Chuck said as the group laughed.

" You ladies stumped him though it seemed. Hopefully he was pissed that Sink didn't tell his petty ass." Floyd said. 

" He probably was." Hazel admitted, " Not everyone wants us here, we've broken a lot of barriers. It's why we were so surprised with the reception you all gave us."

" You kidding? We were going be excited if we got a Virago, we saw so many tapes, pretty sure there was one of you." Joe told her looking at her.

" Really?"

" Oh hell yeah, you took down about 5 of those wooden panels one after another. That's what I call badass." Joe said. Hazel smiled with a shrug of her shoulders. 

" I guess." she said and Shifty smiled.

" Just like you Shift, quiet and humble, but she'll take your head off." Chuck said. Shifty smiled.

" They're the best people, right?' Shifty said and the group broke out laughing. Catherine was sitting with a few of the NCOs, Bill and Johnny as well as Joe Toye, and their mindsets were what brought Catherine to sit with them at mess that night.

" How long has Hazel been shooting that thing?" Bill had asked her. Catherine glanced over at Hazel who was laughing with a few of the guys.

" We started training back in August 1942 all together, but she joined up in the WAC in February of that year, and she's been hunting since before for at least 14 years. She's experienced and she's been scaring the shit out of some of the 82nd and BAF guys." Catherine confirmed with a nod.

" She's strong," Johnny said nodding, " I'm just glad she's on our side." 

" Me too, we heard all about those German snipers they got now," Joe Toye said leaning forward, glancing toward Hazel again, " they clean you out with one bullet, then they take all your stuff. I'm just hoping now with Hazel, she takes 'em out before those fucking Krauts get a chance to do that." Catherine smiled.

" She never misses, not with the training she's had." Catherine told the trio. Bill smiled. 

" Sink was going on about you all, at least about the Viragos at a briefing in March this year. Your training, all that sorta stuff. It's the reason we're actually excited to have you here." Bill told her.

" We were wondering why you didn't disown us the minute we walked in." Catherine said with a flash of sarcasm and the group laughed lightly. 

" You know, for how bright the sun shines, you are truly the light of my life."

" Oh George, stop that's even worse than the last one." Lizzie said putting her hands over her face as Frank laughed from next to her. 

" C'mon you gotta admit that was pretty good." George said, as Lizzie just laughed shaking her head.

" I don't know what you're definition of a good pick up line is. I've had the museum one about 5 times in my life." Lizzie said with a slight giggle. 

" Really? The 'I must be in a museum because you are truly a work of art'? Nah, that's weak, I'm pretty sure mine's superior. All these British ladies are sure to love it." George said with a nod as Lizzie just giggled and shook her head.

" You know, Lizzie," Frank said looking at her, " I just have to say, you are one of the most positive people I've ever met." Lizzie smiled at him with a tiny giggle.

" I try to be, there's a lot of fear right now in the world. Positivity's usually the best method to spread some happiness." Lizzie said, as the two men smiled, " Or food." Laughs echoed around the table.

" Oh look who finally decided to show up." George called and the group watched as Donald Malarkey slid in beside George.

" Yeah, yeah, couldn't drag Skip away from Catherine exactly." Don said as the group looked over to where Skip was laughing like a lunatic beside Catherine.

" Why's that?" Frank asked.

" She's hilarious." Don said, " But I was also hungry, so." George snickered.

" Ah, don't worry, we're just trying out pick up lines, so I know what not to use and what to use." George said.

" Oh, shit, sorry about this Lizzie." Don said as Lizzie smiled.

" It's fine promise, the life of being in the military for over a year, is nothing new compared to what these two have to say." Lizzie confirmed with a nod and the group laughed.

" So, what was training like, with the Viragos. We heard all sorts of stuff, lotta secrecy." Don said. Lizzie glanced at the 3.

" Well, for starters, we didn't leave Camp Athene for 15 weeks." 

" 15 weeks?!" George asked, his eyes wide, " I mean you couldn't even go out for beer? No weekend pass?"

" Weekend pass?" Lizzie asked innocently. 

" Holy fuck, no wonder. You all had no distractions." George said with a grin the size of Texas. Lizzie nodded.

" And plus I wasn't old enough." Lizzie said.

" You're shitting me right, I could've sworn you were at least 24." George said. Lizzie smiled.

" I'm only 21, but by the time I joined Virago, I had just turned 20, and to say the least I'm not a rule breaker." Lizzie confirmed, " And I've been busy with training." 

" You had your first drink yet?" George asked her as Don shoved his shoulder.

" What?" George said exasperated. 

" Can you let her breath for a minute?" Don asked George who rolled his eyes. Lizzie smirked.

" She young?" Don asked Lizzie, pointing his fork over to Hazel who was talking to Shifty now. Lizzie looked at Don and nodded. 

" We all were, Catherine was one of the oldest out of the 250 members." Lizzie said.

" Damn," Don said, " she just looks so young." 

" Sorta our beckon of innocence in war." Lizzie said with a nod, " I mean, she's genuine, she always listens to what you have to say, and she doesn't judge you. And she's humble, humble for someone who shoots a sniper and can kill a man instantly."

" You said it." George said with a nod. 

And it was true, but they were all so young, with their last drop of innocence slowly leaving their body with each passing second. 

There was an odd moment that night in the barracks, as they weren't moving to their post until tomorrow, where the women had to change into their night time clothes, but after a while, the women just changed - they'd lived with the British Army for 9 months, were these guys any different? A little, the British had some more respect in their quarters, but by the end of the night, there was laughter in the barrack, like a bunch of college students, enjoying a night out. It was a completely calming atmosphere and Hazel couldn't be happier at how the entire thing had gone. Having gotten the chance to talk to the men, just really talk without the constraints of war or training, really settled in. That these were the men the women would finish out training with and go to war with. It was a nice feeling to finally get a sense of who they were and what Easy Company was about. As Hazel went to bed that night, between Johnny and Shifty's beds, she fell asleep to their snores, which was surprisingly a very comforting sound. 

It was a peaceful sleep.


	19. aldbourne

" I was quiet but I was not blind."

_\- unknown_

✰✰✰

Aldbourne was a quaint little town, hidden in the rollings hills of England, with cobblestone streets and path ways, and tiny homes lining those roads, as well as little store fronts and restaurants and a fountain in the center of town. It was like a fairytale almost, with the little eves and peaks of the homes and the shutters on the windows with the flowers out front in tiny soil filled pots. It was magical in a sense. When the trucks pulled into the town center, the men and the women jumped out of their truck beds. Hazel jumped down and looked around with her bag on her back, eyes wide in amazement. 

" It's nice ain't it, kid?" Bill said walking up to her side. Bill had helped Hazel up into the truck that morning, and had talked with her the entire way there. Bill was actually fun to be around, and plus he treated her well. Hazel glanced towards him and nodded.

" It's a beautiful little town." she said and Bill smiled at her, helping other men down with their belongings. Hazel began following after the group catching up with Catherine and Lizzie. 

" It's like a fairytale, like Snow White." Hazel said looking around.

" It is," Lizzie said her eyes shining, " especially with the little homes. I love it." Hazel grinned. 

" Ladies, gentlemen!" a voice called and the group looked up and saw Sink in front of the group.

" You will be receiving your billet assignments now and head over to where your assignment is," Sink explained to the group.

" Yes, sir." the group chorused out. Sink stepped down and guided the group over to where 2 lines were formed to where they would get billet assignments. Hazel prayed that she was with the women, but in general, if she were with any of the other men, she wouldn't be entirely opposed. Hazel glanced back at Catherine as she approached the front. Hazel was handed a small slip of paper and found that her name was there with an address, not a barn number.

" I'm not in a barn," Hazel said, as Catherine and Lizzie came over with their own slips of paper.

" We aren't either." they said showing their own slips of paper. It seems that they were being respected to the fullest, as if they were officers when they clearly weren't. But officers and NCOs received billet assignments and that was something very enjoyable about it all. A home, and an actual bed. 

Hazel bided goodbye to the 2 women, as well as the men who were upset the women wouldn't be bunked with them. 

Joe Liebgott promised he'd probably just show up on random days, she believed he would.

She had eaten breakfast with him that morning, and had found out that he's actually a really nice guy to be around and they never seemed to run out of things to talk about. 

So she took his word for that. 

The house, which was down a road, and on a tiny hill, which overlooked a field with trees and English hills surrounding it. The sunshine seemed to hit the house just right, with glistening, clean washed windows, a few buckets of soapy water sitting right outside, with a beautiful porch, flowers, hanging pots and little ceramics everywhere. There were little pots of flowers in front of each window, with golden colored shutters on them. There was a farm in the back, and a small garden and water pump on the side, and a few cow moos and chicken clucks from the back. There were wildflowers all over the front lawn. It was a beautiful little home. The door opened and a woman who seemed to be in her mid-40s to 50s stepped out, with a wise smile upon her lips.

" I was telling my husband Harry that you would be showing up today, but he kept mixing up his days, until he noticed a paratrooper coming up the road." the woman said as she brushed back a lock of golden hair from her forehead, with a smile on her face. Hazel smiled and laughed lightly as she approached the home. 

" You must be Hazel, am I right?" she asked her with a graceful smile.

" Yes, ma'am." Hazel said as they shook hands. 

" Ma'am, haven't been called that since my years in war." she said, and smiled at Hazel. Hazel's interest was peaked.

" Follow me inside, we'll get you settled." The inside was even more beautiful. To the right was the kitchen, that opened up to the living room, that flowed outside to a porch and the farm out back. The staircase was in front of them, leading upstairs and to the left was a sitting room with a fire place, stacks of books, and plump couches with a desk, overflowing with papers. 

" I'm Mrs. Burnett, but you can call me Grace. My husband Harry's around here somewhere." she said as she turned and took the step down into the kitchen.

" Harry? Love? She's here, Hazel." Grace called throughout the home as Hazel admired the framework of the home, all the tiny photographs, as well as the tiny antiques that were on each and every shelf without an ounce of dust on them. 

" I'm coming." a voice called and Hazel looked up to see an older man, with a shovel in hand, from being outside, coming inside, with a jolly smile upon his face. He gave Grace a kiss on the cheek first.

" How are you? I'm Mr. Burnett, if Grace already said this, but you can call me Harry." he said as he shook her hand, and Hazel smiled gratefully. 

" It's nice to meet you, thank you for taking me into your home." Hazel said.

" Well aren't you just the sweetest thing," Grace said holding a hand to her heart, " Harry put that shovel down, what have I said about bringing it into the house." Harry laughed.

" I know, I know, you love me still." Harry said with a smile and Grace just smirked at him, as he lumbered out again outside. 

" How about I show you upstairs, alright? We have a bed, with fresh sheets, and then I can start on dinner for you, how does that sound?" Grace asked with a smile.

" That sounds nice." Hazel said and Grace smiled. Grace led the way up the staircase which was a beautiful dark brown, with plants along the stairs, many pictures of people in black and white, and a few cats as well. The upstairs was even more beautiful with more plants and pictures as well as so much natural afternoon light. 

" You have a beautiful home, Grace." Hazel said as she looked around gazing at everything.

" Thank you, dear. I just tend to pick up any pictures, old book or plant I see and fit it in. It makes quite a lovely home." Grace said looking around her house with a smile. Hazel smiled. Grace turned the door handle to a room at the end of the hallway and stepped inside, allowing Hazel inside. There was a bed, with a big and bright window beside it, with afternoon sun picking in and hitting a bunch of plants and books that were around the room. The bed had 2 pillows with a fluffy comforter, as well as a nightstand, containing a toothbrush, cloth, and a bar of soap. 

" As you can tell we've been excited about housing you here." Grace said as she smoothed down the one pillow on the bed, " I called this my art room." Hazel noticed the paintings that were stored away in the corners of the home.

" This house has been in my family for generations. Harry just insisted we live in here." Hazel smiled at her. There was a breeze from the open window, that gave the room a sense of a fresh scent from the outside world, an Earthy scent. 

" You remind me of my mom back home, she loved plants and old books." Hazel told her as she sat down on the bed with her bag and looked towards Grace. Grace smiled, a wide smile.

" Think of me as your mom, I know it'll help." Grace told Hazel squeezing her shoulder gently. Hazel smiled.

" I'll let you to get settled, I'm going to start on dinner." Grace told her and gave a grateful smile her way before heading out of the door. Hazel smiled softly and then turned and looked around the room. She approached the window and looked out towards the farm and the field and the hills. It was all so beautiful. Hazel slowly turned and looked towards where Grace had pointed out that there were paintings there. Hazel slowly headed towards them and crouched down next to them int he corner. They were beautiful landscape paintings, with the most vibrant colors that brought out the little bits and each little detail. Hazel reached forward and pulled a painting forward that showed the night sky, filled with stars. Bright and beautiful stars. Hazel then noticed a sunflower one behind it, with the most softest of yellows painted into the canvas.

" Her paintings on always the best." a voice said and Hazel's head flipped to the side to see Harry standing in the door of the bedroom, looking fondly at the paintings. Hazel stood.

" I'm sorry, they're just beautiful paintings." Hazel said and smiled. Harry smiled and walked forward into the room, looking around it with a small smile.

" Don't be sorry at all, she never gets her work out there, I think she should get it out there." Harry said and Hazel grinned. 

" I think she should too." Hazel said and Harry smiled.

" There's some more downstairs if you would like me to show you." Harry said. Hazel nodded. He was so proud of his wife, and Hazel adored that. 

" Of course." Hazel said. She followed Harry downstairs and into the sitting room. The sitting room was filled with antiques, books and plants, and paintings covered the walls. The painting that caught Hazel's eyes was the one of a tree with the sun shining behind it, illuminating a shadow.

" I like that one." Hazel said pointing towards the painting.

" Ahh," Harry said, " that's my favorite too." Hazel's heart was warm looking at the painting. " Does she think that, too?" Hazel asked him. Harry looked at her and smiled.

" She prefers the sunflower one upstairs, but I tell her I like each and everyone she paints." Harry said and Hazel smiled, she couldn't stop. 

" That's cute." Hazel said and Harry chuckled.

" Oh, there you are." the two heard a voice say and they turned to see it was Grace a smile on her face. 

" You have beautiful paintings, Grace." Hazel said as Grace walked up besides her and smiled.

" Thank you, dear. I try." she said and Hazel watched her smile genuinely at her paintings. Dinner that night was delicious and Hazel got to know the Burnetts better, who were the most adorable couple Hazel had felt she had ever met. 

A gentle night breeze filtered through the window into the room that night. Hazel would be alone for this part of her journey and it was something she'd have to get used to. 

Back when she was with the women, at Camp Athene, there were at least 40 people in a bunk room, just for the first half of 2nd platoon. With the British Army, snores always descended upon the room and helped Hazel sleep. Now she was alone, listening to nothing but the wind. Hazel laid on her stomach against the pillow and looked up towards the stars which shone brightly down onto the English countryside night. 

This was the start of a new chapter with the men of Easy Company and Hazel finally felt excited.


	20. stars of swindon

" There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate."

_\- Linda Grayson_

✰✰✰

Within the next week, the Company had to follow through with an Army orientation program. Hazel, Catherine and Lizzie had been in England for 9 months, almost a year, and they had learned the way of the locals on many weekend passes to Swindon or London, understanding their culture and their mannerisms. 

But the women, knowing that they needed to be integrated with the men quickly if they wanted to truly felt like they were a part of the company, sat in with each initial class that was given to the group, working with the men, talking and chatting, and laughing a lot, creating little jokes, getting to know them. It helped that being apart of Virago Company had given each woman a confidence boost, mainly from the many times Thermes would call a single woman out and they'd have to be confident enough to perform a task in front of the 250 women and Thermes. They were also easy going which helped get the men to understand the women and get a feel for what they were really receptive of, a sort of mutual respect. 

The first week together had been long and slightly odd, with no amount of training included, just simply learning about England and its people. The men were always excited when they saw the women, just getting to talk with them and finally starting to get to know them. 

Hazel always enjoyed their constant company and was growing use to their own mannerisms within a few days. Joe Liebgott teased her endlessly for the littlest things, like how she held her pencil, or how her helmet was lopsided, but in the end it was all fun and games with them. 

Lizzie became close with Eugene Roe, her fellow medic, as they sat side by side through classes, talking quietly to each other, as they seemed to compliment each other's personalities pretty well. 

Catherine got along with nearly everyone and was sitting beside a new person each day, laughing or talking. 

Hazel found herself with Shifty most days, her fellow 'sniper' or sharpshooter. They had quickly connected over their similar backgrounds and likes of weaponry. Shifty had grown up hunting, just as Hazel had, so they always had something to talk about. 

During the week, one of the guys would end up coming home with her, as they got distracted while talking and found themselves where she was staying, and they'd end up coming inside for dinner, which Hazel knew the Burnett's loved. 

It was Shifty one night, then Floyd and then Bill and even Lizzie and Catherine together the next. The Burnett's loved having other people in their house, especially American soldiers who told funny stories. 

By Saturday, when the last of their basic classes had finished, the company received weekend passes to Swindon, where a supposed Saturday night dance was to occur. Sobel had given quite the regulation to the group, they weren't allowed to take off their blouses, or their coats, while they were dancing, even if they were to get warm. 

Catherine had complained alongside Bill, and the two were yelling about it as the group went back to their billeted homes. 

So there Hazel stood, slowly tying her tie in front of the mirror in the room she were in. She was careful at looping the bottom of the tie through the hole and then giving it a gentle tug. Her skirt was still drying out the best it could, the tips were wet from when Grace had washed their uniforms for them, so Hazel was hoping if at the dance it got hot enough, it'd dry off. Hazel tugged her belt tight, and smoothed down her top in the mirror, before turning and reaching for her jacket. She carefully slipped on her Oxfords and then looked at the mirror once again, satisfied. Hazel carefully hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen where Grace and Harry were eating dinner together.

" My, my, you look stunning dear." Grace said as she came forward and grasped Hazel's hands.

" Thank you." Hazel said as her cheeks reddened a bit as Harry looked towards her.

" Follow me, I have something for you." Grace said taking Hazel's hand and leading her upstairs again. Grace lead Hazel into her and Harry's bedroom and then walked over to the jewelry box on her nightstand. Hazel watched from the doorway as Grace dug around in the jewelry box before pulling something out from it. Grace looked at it fondly before turning and coming back over to Hazel. 

" I would've given it to my daughter if I had one." Grace said as she brought over the tiny piece of jewelry.

" Let me see your wrist." Grace said and Hazel held out her arm. Grace daintily wrapped a simple golden chain bracelet around Hazel's wrist, a simple heart connected on the chain. 

" I always wanted a daughter, but I couldn't have children and you have been the closest thing to a child we've both had." Grace said, admiring the bracelet on Hazel's wrist. Hazel looked up at Grace who looked as if she was holding back tears.

" Thank you, Grace." Hazel whispered. Grace nodded and bit back her lip, before bringing Hazel into a warm hug. It felt like a motherly hug, like one Hazel's own mother would give where they hold you so close and so tightly you can't help but feel loved. When they both got downstairs again, standing in the kitchen was a man, dressed in his Class A uniform. 

" Oh, Hazel, dear, this boy says he's a friend of yours." Harry said and Hazel smirked a bit when she saw who it was.

" Told ya I was stopping by." Joe Liebgott said smuggly. 

" I figured it was you." Hazel said with an innocent smile.

" Get going, get going, you can't be late!" Grace said pushing them towards the door. They were already running late once they stepped outside and into the night, but neither seemed to care.

" How'd you know where I was billeted?" she asked him.

" Shifty's been here for dinner and he's gullible." Joe answered her as he stuck his hands in his pockets and looked to her. She smiled, she figured as much. 

" So, are you gonna dance tonight?" Joe asked her. Hazel scrunched her face up.

" Dancing's not for me." Hazel said shrugging her shoulders. 

" Really?" Joe asked her, genuinely surprised. She laughed.

" Yeah, I've just, I haven't danced in a while." she admitted with another shrug of her shoulders. 

" It's called a dance, Tiny, pretty sure you're gonna have some lucky guy coming up to ya." Joe told her, " Begging you to not just sit there and drink your drink."

" I'll take my chances, Joe Liebgott." Hazel said with a small smile his way. Joe smirked. Tiny, the nickname George had used a week ago from today when they all had first met and now it had really just stuck. 

" There they are!" Catherine called out as Hazel and Joe finally made it to the square where a mass of Class A uniformed men and 2 women stood, their chatter heard blocks away. Swindon was only about a 20 minutes drive by the trucks they were transported on and so when they finally made it to where the dance was, the room was already sweltering with heat. 

Hazel stuck close to Catherine and Lizzie as they walked past the frothy bar and towards a few tables nearby. They were men and women everywhere, in US and British uniform as well as towns women from Swindon. 

The place was loud and humid it seemed and the smells that wafted through were poignant. Hazel's eyes were darting pretty much everywhere, she didn't know where to look half the time. She'd never really been in many bars, even after all her time in the military. She watched a few of the Easy men get dragged to the dance floor by some Swindon ladies, moving to the grove and tempo of the music. Hazel found it somewhat hilarious, watching the ones who didn't at all look too interested in the dancing aspect. Joe had begged her dance, but the worry in her stomach plus the visions in her head prevented her as she watched him be lead away by a bubbly ginger haired woman from Swindon. 

" I'm surprised you're not dancing," Joe Toye said as he sat down beside her and then looked her way, " it is a dance." Hazel offered a tiny smile.

" I don't dance much, I'm not too good at it." Hazel said shrugging her shoulders. 

" Really?" Joe asked her and she nodded, " Oh come on, I bet you're great, kid."

" I just, don't think I'm that great." she told him honestly. 

" Well, if you do ever decide to dance, I bet you'll do great." Joe told her as he sipped his beer and she looked over at him with a smile.

" Thank you." she said with a small smile, as the two then looked out towards the crowd of people dancing.

" I think George might trip over that poor girl's feet soon if he continues doing what he's doing." Joe said as Hazel found the man, indeed, trying not to trip over the woman's feet that he was dancing with. Hazel laughed lightly as Joe glanced at her.

" It looks like." she said. The two continued to watch people dance throughout the song and when it ended, the woman George danced with, up and left the scene, leaving a lonely George behind. Lizzie came over with Chuck behind her as the two collapsed in chairs exhausted. 

" Remind me never to dance to that song again." Lizzie said as she high-fived Chuck who looked just as warn out.

" It wasn't just dancing though," Chuck said as Hazel and Joe both raised brows, " It was avoiding the people dancing around us that crashed into us the whole time." Hazel smiled a bit as Joe snickered beside her. 

" He ok?" Lizzie asked pointing to George who walked over with slumped shoulders.

" The girl he was dancing with walked away." Joe said and Lizzie sighed. 

" Aw." Lizzie said, " That's sad."

" Hey guys." George said as he sat down across the table from them. 

" You ok, George?" Joe asked leaning forward.

" I guess, I'm not the best at dancing." George admitted. This was a first for Hazel, seeing George sad. 

" Here, George, how about we dance to this song." Lizzie said standing and coming around the table to his side and putting a hand on his shoulder.

" Oh, Lizzie, I don't think I can do that to you. I'll trip you like I did to her." George said watching Lizzie.

" I promise you, I tripped Chuck plenty of times." Lizzie said, " C'mon."

" C'mon man," Chuck said, " go, she won't embarrass you. I mean I danced with her, she's good." Lizzie smirked at Chuck. 

" C'mon." Lizzie said to George, holding her hand out for him.

" Lizzie, if you fall on your pretty little face, you were asking for it ok." George said as he stood and took her hand.

" Shut up, George, we're dancing." Lizzie said and lead him away to the dance floor. They left the trio laughing.

" That's the medic in her." Chuck commented as Lizzie nodded.

" Oh, most definitely. You don't follow her rules and regulations, she will not be the happy person she normally is." Hazel said softly and the two men laughed.

" Lizzie, are you sure?" George asked as Lizzie and him walked side by side. 

" Of course," Lizzie said smiling at George, " c'mon, in the 1 week I've know you, you are a super confident guy, where'd that go?" George smirked.

" You sound like my mom." George said as Lizzie laughed. 

" It'll be fun, I'm not too great either." Lizzie said. When they got out onto the dance floor, Lizzie turned to George and gently placed her hand on his shoulder and grabbed his other hand in hers. George looked at her and then placed his hand on her waist and she smiled.

" It'll be fine, I know you can dance, George." Lizzie said as they gently began to sway to the music. Lizzie watched his gentle brown eyes, they were like doe's. It reminded Lizzie of Brady's eyes. Him and George were similar in too many ways to count. Lizzie thought George was actually a really good dancer, as he didn't step on her feet, like half of the other guys, and they secured each other as they danced as well. 

Catherine came over to the table where Chuck, Joe and Hazel were with a drink in hand, as she approached the group who was all taking with each other.

" Hey, how're you guys doing?" Catherine said as she approached them. 

" Hey, Sarge." Chuck called and Catherine rolled her eyes.

" I told you that you didn't have to call me that." Catherine said as she leaned against the back of Joe's chair.

" You're a Sergeant, aren't you?" Joe asked turning around to look at her.

" Yeah." Catherine said, " See those stripes, Toye." 

" Yes, ma'am." Joe answered, as Catherine shoved his shoulder with a smirk as Hazel smiled.

" Don't ever ask Skinny to dance, that boy tripped over my feet too many times to count." she said as she sat down next to Chuck. 

" I heard that McCown." another voice said and the group burst into laughter as Skinny came over with his own drink and stared at her.

" It's true, Skinny." Catherine said to him as Skinny just sat down, shaking his head. Hazel tuned out their conversation and watched Lizzie and George dance together with a small smile on her face. You never went against an Elizabeth Elliot order, especially seeing as she were a medic and a good one at that. 

" Tired, Bill?" Catherine called as the man ambled over with his drink and took a seat at the table.

" Tired? Clearly you haven't met me, McCown, I'm just getting started. I just needed a drink." Bill said, as Hazel snickered. 

" Then I guess you're up for a dart game." Catherine offered leaning forward against the table.

" Oh, you're on." Bill said, as Catherine smirked.

" Any of you want to join, we could do teams?" Catherine offered.

" Why not." Chuck said as he stood. Bill looked at Joe Toye who sat, unfazed and not even interested in the conversation beside Hazel.

" Joe." Bill called. Joe looked towards him.

" What?" Joe asked annoyed.

" You're on my team." Bill said. Joe raised a brow.

" I just want to sit down and drink my beer, Bill." Joe argued back as Bill raised a brow staring at him.

" Scared to lose, Toye?" Catherine asked Joe with a smirk. Joe narrowed his eyes.

" Alright, alright, I'm coming." Joe said as he stood, adjusting his jacket as he mumbled curses to himself. Hazel laughed.

" This is what I get." Joe said as he then took his drink and sipped it again, " Fuck me." Hazel laughed as Joe left.

" How good are you really?" Joe asked Catherine as she walked beside him.

" Wouldn't you like to know, I do recall hearing you say you didn't even want to play." Catherine said.

" You annoy her even more Joe and you'll be on a team alone." Bill called as Joe rolled her eyes. 

" I think that actually might be you Bill." Catherine called as Bill snickered shaking his head. Catherine had never been more excited to play a game of darts. 

Hazel eventually left the table, her Coke bottle in her hands, as she slowly exited the dance club, sweating, but with orders from Sobel, she wasn't about to remove her blouse. So, she walked towards a bench that overlooked a tiny garden with a little stream of running water and decided to sit by it and gaze at the stars above. She could see the big dipper and the little dipper and the North Star as well as Leo the Lion.

" Hey," she heard a voice say and Hazel looked over to see Joe Liebgott coming towards her, smoking a cigarette and glancing up at the stars above them. 

" Star-gazing?" he asked her. Hazel nodded softly at him, before looking back up at the stars. It was quiet outside, you could the gentle hum of music inside and the voices, but the building held in that volume and let the outside remain peaceful. She felt Joe slowly sit down beside her.

" Why're you out here?" Joe asked her. Hazel smiled.

" I like watching the stars, always have." she told him, her eyes shining as she looked up at them. Joe followed her gaze up.

" Why're you out here? Following me?" Hazel asked him with a smirk and Joe snickered.

" No," he said, " you're just an interesting person to talk to." Hazel smiled at him, she took it as a compliment.

" You ever just watch the stars, Joe?" Hazel asked him.

" No," Joe answered quickly, " life moved a little too fast back at San Francisco." Hazel glanced towards him.

" Is that where you're from?" she asked him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Joe looked at her and smiled.

" Yeah, born and raised." he said. 

" I've always wanted to go to San Francisco." Hazel said, " I'm just not sure how many stars you see at night."

" Oh you can get some places where you see the stars." Joe said sitting up with a smile. Hazel glanced at him.

" I thought you said you never watch the stars, Joe." Hazel said softly, before leaning back with a smile and looking up towards the sky. She heard Joe chuckle beside her.

" Right," he answered. Hazel smiled. Hazel suddenly pointed up towards the sky. 

" You see that?" she asked him. She was pointing towards a bluish tinted star.

" That's Sirius, the dog star." she said, " He's always out at night." Joe glanced at her. 

" How'd you know that?" Joe asked her.

" I read." she said with a small smile. 

" Is that what you're going to college for?" Joe asked her. Hazel bit her lip and looked at him and shook her head.

" No," she said, " I hope to go for mathematics, put that to use somehow, get closer to the stars." Joe smirked at her.

" Math?" he asked her. Hazel looked at him.

" What's wrong with math?" 

" Math's so....boring, it's just numbers on a page." he said. Hazel laughed.

" Not if you think about it in that way." Hazel told him, " I find it a way to make sense of the world around me." 

" I prefer the method where I actually go out and explore." Joe said.

" That's cool, too." Hazel said, before looking at the stars again. 

" Could you see stars like this in Camp Toccoa?" she asked him, " We could see them in Camp Athene."

" Not sure, I don't stargaze remember?" Joe said as Hazel looked at him and laughed. She nodded. Joe slowly pulled out something from his pocket; a chocolate bar. 

" Figured I'd stow this along, you want a piece?" Joe asked her. Hazel grinned. She loved chocolate. She nodded. So, Joe cracked the bar in 2 and handed her the other half. 

The two sat under the stars that night, watching them, and nibbling on chocolate, as the world spun slowly, and a war raged behind them, yearning and coming closer with each and every day.


	21. the training in england

" The bond that links your true family is not one of blood but of respect and joy in each other's life." 

_\- Richard Bach_

✰✰✰

Within that Monday however, the intense training schedule that generally everyone was anticipating finally approached them all. With their weekend of fun in Swindon having passed by then, serious facades fell upon everyone. 

Hazel set times to get to bed early to ensure she could wake up with enough time in the morning and Grace graciously would wake up early to provide her food other than the horrid Army breakfast which they were both grateful for. 

That first week was more-or-less hell. 

They were going almost 10 hours a day in the field going through multiple types of training. Hikes were something that Sobel enjoyed around the English countryside in full gear that ranged from 15 to 25 miles, with Sobel leading, in one of the most prideful manners as well. Each night was a new night operation, that made everyone get virtually about 4 hours of sleep when all was said and done. Close-combat exercises were another of Sobel's favorites. 

Hazel always found herself partnered with Shifty on those however, with their similar heights and builds and Hazel had never been more grateful, but she was always sore. To say that Hazel's back hurt a bit after that would be an understatement with the amount of time's she and Shifty had to flip each other over each other's shoulders. Hazel could tell Shifty was just the slightest bit nervous flipping the girl over his shoulder, only because she was tiny, but she told him to just do it. When Shifty would look at her after doing so, she'd simply smile up at him and get up ready to do it again. 

She was a mighty little thing for sure. 

But then Hazel gave Shifty a run for his money when he would do it to him, and Shifty found that her moves were quick and sharp and defined, like they'd be worked on almost expertly. 

Shifty was intimidated by that, but he didn't entirely mind. 

There were also afternoons spent in street fighting, which Hazel thought was rather chaotic, that nervous laughs would accidentally leave her system as she ran beside a member of 2nd platoon along a rode and would scare a nearby civilian.

One maneuver was led by Second Platoon's own Bill Guarnere as Hazel remained in his squad with Catherine leading 3rd Squad through a field.

" Hazel on me." Bill said, giving her a thumbs up. Hazel gave a quick thumbs up and then patted Chuck on the shoulder who was in front of her and followed after Bill. Bill moved across the street quickly, before moving up along the side of a building across the way. Hazel did a quick peek around the corner and then hurried across, slamming in next to Bill with a nod.

" I want you set up here," Bill said pointing to the ground," facing here," he said and motioned to her left. She nodded to him and he patted her back before moving back across the street to the rest of the squad. Hazel got on her stomach on the cold concrete, and set up her scope, which she set to safety as she could see civilians clearly through it. 

Hazel glanced over towards Bill who spoke clearly to 2nd platoon's 2nd squad before jumping to the wall to give a quick peek again. Like there were Krauts or something. Bill then jumped up and motioned to the group to move quickly down the side of the building and Hazel watched earnestly from her position set on her bipod. 

She watched as Joe Toye led the group forward, and then stopped, causing the rest of 2nd squad to slam into his back as a civilian came around the corner with mounds of wheat atop his cart, wide eyed. Hazel snickered quietly to herself, even if she knew in battle she wouldn't snicker when the enemy popped up right around the corner. 

But it was fine, to have some fun and games for a while, and she enjoyed Joe Toye's telling of the story that night at mess when Catherine and Lizzie had finally taken their seats and many others had gathered around to hear Joe's tale. It left people cackling afterwards. 

But that was just one of many stories like it. 

Lizzie and Gene were a great duo of medics who led Easy in simple medical related sessions. They bounced off each other, as in, they just seemed to mesh as colleagues. If Lizzie had an idea, she'd give it to Gene and Gene would like it and vice versa. And Gene was someone who defended the women if things were spoken about them by other medics of the 101st or 506th when they'd all get together for larger based meetings.

" You know a Sergeant Christopher Jenkins?" Gene had asked her one day, as the two medics stood in front of a room of Easy men and women practicing wrapping a wound. Lizzie glanced towards Gene, with her arms crossed, a worried look crossing her face. 

" Yeah," Lizzie answered, " yeah, I do, why?" Gene scratched his head and looked towards her.

" He was hanging around where Airborne medics all were, talking to this one guy, about you." Gene said and glanced at Lizzie. Lizzie bit her lip. 

" He's been bugging us since January." Lizzie said softly and then shrugged, " We've told him off a few times, he likes breaking our stones about women and the military." Gene looked over at her.

" Seems that's the only thing he can do." Gene muttered.

" He's part of the 82nd," Lizzie said, " but he always was hanging around us. I suspected that there was intimidation there, but..."

" I would've been intimidated seeing someone like you come in." Gene said softly with a gentle smile. Lizzie smiled gently at him. 

" There's really nothing much to be intimidated about." Lizzie said, almost shyly, placing a strand o hair behind her ear. Gene smiled.

" Possibly that intelligence up there, your kindness, quick thinking." Gene offered as he looked towards her and Lizzie's grin widened. 

" That means a lot Gene." Lizzie said. Gene smiled at her.

" Don't listen to that guy, he just has never actually had a real conversation with you." Gene said, 

" He's to ignorant to do that though." Lizzie smiled.

" And sometimes people are like that." Lizzie agreed with him, nodding and Gene nodded. Then he smiled softly at her. 

The classes were long, though, reminding Hazel of classes back at Athene with maps, first aid, chemical warfare, and most importantly German weapons. 

Hazel had started offering Liebgott her notes, and soon enough they were sharing notes, huddled side by side, writing things down together, and sometimes Joe would bump her as she wrote just to mess her up or peeve her off the deep end. But it was all good fun in the end.

" You know, Joe, hitting my shoulder and messing up my notes, is messing up your notes as well." Hazel had told him one afternoon as Lieutenant Winters stood at the front of the group going over spits of information based on the ideology of the ground and its importance when doing practice runs or drills that were supposed to be of semblance to real combat. 

" I don't entirely care, Parker, I'm just here to annoy ya." Joe mumbled back as Winters voice grew louder.

" Funny," muttered Hazel, as she kicked his foot under the table. She saw Joe smirk at her. He kicked her foot back and she glanced over towards him. 

" What?" he asked, like he didn't just hit her foot.

" I'm a sniper, Joe," Hazel said softly, as she wrote another few words down in her book.

" And?"

" Well," Hazel said as Winters glanced towards the two, " my bullets came move 1,000 feet per second, Joe."

" Right," Joe said.

" And, I know the spots in the body where the most pain could be inflicted upon bullet entry." Hazel said with a nod looking up at the board again.

" Oh right I forgot." Joe said as Hazel let a giggle pass her lips. All the guys were like that though, treating the women like one of the guys, like they had actually trained with them, even though they had only met a month or two ago, but that's what the military did to you. Bonded you with people together so greatly that it didn't matter what your background was. 

On 25 mile hike days, with Sobel they could be 24 hour hikes or 12 hour hikes, it depended on mostly Sobel's mood within the company. Hazel always marched alongside Joe Liebgott and Chuck Grant and the trio became a group of comedians when Sobel would yell out his dumb " Hi-Ho Silver" phrase and the 3 would start mocking him, quietly, in their own impressions, even though George Luz had the best impersonations that Lizzie got to hear as a member of 1st platoon. Sobel's favorite though had to be the consistent courses of booby traps, removal of mines, and communications. he talked rather enthusiastically as he discussed such courses and never heard the mockery George made of it during lunches. 

Catherine was the only one, along really with her fellow NCOs who had trouble making fun of it, because, like Lip, she tried imagining Sobel in the field of combat and nearly shit her pants. The thought scared her, as some sort of leader to be looked up to.

" Someone like him, leading us in combat, Bill?" Catherine said as the two NCOs walked through the streets of Aldbourne that weekend, a slight chill in the air.

" I don't think I can do that." Catherine said, as Bill glanced at her.

" I don't think a single NCO agrees with following him in." Bill said, " Talked to Lip the other day, nicest guy you ever talk to and even he was hesitant to say Sobel would be a combat leader in battle, a good one at that." 

" I mean, I didn't have training at Toccoa, but seriously? Forgetting Hazel in the field? Mixing up his maps? We'll get killed before we even come into contact with the enemy." Catherine hissed softly as Bill glanced at her.

" After Toccoa, we'd do practice drills, guy would get frantic, lead us to an ambush, he was always messing up maneuvers and still is." Bill said. Catherine bit her lip with a sigh and rubbed a hand worriedly over her face. The NCOs were the clear glue of Easy Company, that held the tight knit group together with the struggles of Herbert Sobel. 

" We'll be alright though," Catherine affirmed to him, nodding her head, " if anything we have Winters and Lip and us NCOs. We're already doing all we can to make sure that if something goes wrong in the field, we can take over. I have to keep telling myself that."

" He'll be lucky if we don't mutiny before this fucking jump." Bill muttered beside her as she sighed to herself. Sobel would be very lucky if that didn't happen, but with each week, that was looking closer to the only option. 

November was when the 2 to 3 day exercises started, and the nights grew colder and darker in the already rainy and cold England. Hazel became accustomed to Sobel forgetting about her much to the dislike of the NCOs who supported Hazel relentlessly. 

Bill had counted on her many times for her observant skills that she seemed to witlessly provide. Bill was almost thrown out of the weekend pass for talking to Sobel the way he did to give Hazel fair representation as a sniper in the company. This is why Hazel was grateful for her practice days with Sergeant Coleman. 

So, on 3 day exercises, Hazel liked how after the group would move through the English countryside, Winters would come around and give them tips about the land and the mechanics of wanting to understand the land they would land on as paratroopers. Hazel adored Winters methods as a leader and tactician, they were substantially better than Sobel's by a landslide and Hazel felt comfortable knowing that at least if they had Winters, they'd be ok. She also liked the way Winters addressed foxholes. He always said the foxholes would save your life even in the most desperate and dehumanizing times. 

Hazel always stayed in various foxholes with Shifty, who Sobel had begrudgingly assigned to Hazel as partners for their similar sniping abilities as Shifty was the best sharpshooter of the company. Shifty had protested against that too many times as her and Shifty lay side by side in their foxhole, staring at the cloudy sky that covered the stars, talking quietly at night, but Hazel promised that if they were partners, he had to be one of the best. 

But it was little things like that, which brought the women and men closer. 

Field work. 

One of the most unlikely things. 

Even if Sobel was totally against the women in the company, he couldn't deny the sharpened skills they had compared to a slew of the men of the company. It brought everyone closer. 

Catherine would be in foxholes with Bill and they got to know each other well, through experiences and holding each other close, with no meal in their stomachs, as rain and thunder poured down on them. But it was like instinct, to just protect each other and be there for each other, everyone noticed it as the weeks passed. The men and women of the company could trust each other though because at nights it felt like they were really out in the middle of Germany, as Shermans would roll by or they would hear practice shots from other far off British companies. They knew they could trust each other and have each other's back and that was a beautiful thing. 

Lizzie and Gene were like two peas in a pod as the company medics who trusted each other dutifully and who the men trusted with their lives by that point.

It helped that the women came in with sharpened skills, they were viewed as people who could automatically be trusted because of how fine-tuned their skills were in the field and how commanding their vocal or silent presence was.

It was a dynamic that was respected and worked. It got to the point where when someone would walk around at night, people could recognize their footsteps. 

Hazel knew when Catherine and Bill did rounds and she knew when it was Lip or Chuck or Johnny or Bull. It was mutual thing within each one of them. If it was true to say that the reason trust was able to build between the men and women was because of those nights in the field where desperation seemed too overwhelming, then it had to be true. 

Hazel recognized that to build bonds, sometimes you never had to say a word to each other, it could be one look and you're gone, you completely see one another inside and out. Hazel preferred it that way. 

The men of Toccoa had been bonded through that experience, but with the women now, this just strengthened it entirely. 

And all the officers saw that. 

On weekend passes, the group was so comfortable with each other, able to talk for hours, understand each other, know each other's own mannerisms and even what their favorite color was. Little things like that. But it was an evident bond, built from Sobel's training, even of that in Toccoa that helped bring the group closer with each practice and made it more bearable. 

December was never a great month for Hazel, it always was so ungodly cold, especially now in England, so the night practices were always unbearable now, with her toes going numb as she lay shoved in Shifty's side lying in freezing mud, rubbing her hands furiously together to stay warm, as to there were no blankets provided by Sobel or 2nd Battalion. Hazel relished when she would get back to the Burnett's after a 3 day practice. Grace made a wonderful cream that helped her feet a lot and run a bath for her, and then make tea and shortbreads for her, making her sit by the fire until she felt warm. Harry would keep the radio on Christmas music stations as Hazel sat on the couch sipping her drink, in the dim light of the evening. It was always such a wonderful thing to come back to. 

They started doing jumps, for the purpose of quick assembly afterwards. On the first ever jump with the boys, since the 3 women didn't earn their jump wings with the men, there was a bit of anticipation in how the women would react from the men, but once they watched the women jump that disappeared. Learning to use the risers was something the women noticed many of the men still were getting used to, but during those 9 months before the men, in England, they were changed with a Special Forces member Lieutenant Burke who would help them nail down the expertises of risers. 

Hazel hated her numb toes, but Joe Liebgott, who was beside her for each combat jump would always tell her to continue 'wiggling those toes', and she would before they became numb. She spent many nights, having Grace run salt baths for her toes and feet to keep them from hypothermia, but many of the other men went through similar things as well. 

On a particular jump, in the middle of December on a cold, rainy and windy day, as Hazel landed, she watched as other members from 2nd land as well as Winters and Nixon. Hazel looked up into the grey sky and saw the singular plane fly by.

" Where the fuck is 1st and 3rd?" Joe Liebgott said coming up beside Hazel. Hazel looked at the sky again. 

" Did we miss the DZ that much?" she asked him as she heard Winters call out to the group to come over to him.

" I hope the fuck not." Joe said to her. He liked the use of 'fuck' when he got angry, but Hazel had noticed that from being his partner and buddy on jumps plenty of times. 

" It seems," Winters started as the mass of 2nd platoon gathered around him, " that we've missed the DZ." Hazel glanced at Joe beside her and then back towards where Penkala, who she had grown closer with, was standing with Skip and Don with their mortars. She quirked a brow up and he sighed with a roll of his eyes.

" Let's start a double envelopment south," Winters said as Nixon brought out his map and looked at it, " we'll go in the general direction of where the DZ was." And so they began moving in that general direction, spread out along the line as they moved through the forest. 

" How far you think we missed it?" Hazel asked Joe.

" Well, we've been walking for a solid 10 miles by now, so I'd so pretty damn far." Joe told her and Hazel sighed. Imagine if it had been during an actual jump into enemy territory. It possibly could've meant death. Hazel's feet were numb by the time they reached the DZ, where 1st and 3rd platoon stood, it was almost nightfall. 

" Lieutenant Winters!" Sobel called out as the group approached. The two began conversing with each other as Hazel glanced towards Lizzie who stood next to Perconte. They met eyes and Hazel shook her head regretfully. Lizzie let out a visible sigh and Hazel smirked with a shrug. 

That night, they were told just how much they had missed it by. 

25 miles. 

Thank God for Sobel and those stupid 25 mile marches, it might've just saved their sanity.


	22. wartime

" Strong women don't have attitudes. They have standards and boundaries." 

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Hazel enjoyed when they were relieved from training for a weekend and got to experience Wartime London during Christmas time. The trust among the people of the company was astounding by this point. There was banter and inside jokes and laughs as tiny groups moved down the streets of London, with glances from the locals, but they didn't entirely care with their extra $50 dollar pay in their pockets and smiles on their faces. 

Of course, Hazel sent each and every bit of extra pay she got to her mother back home with hopes that she could put it towards herself for once and not the house. Hazel enjoyed walking next to Lizzie, the two women dressed in their uniforms as Christmas music played through the streets, with songs of hope and joy for the holiday as well as longing and the feeling of homesickness, since it was yet another Christmas where they would not be home with their loved ones.

" You know," Malarkey started as him and Skip stood on either side of Hazel, " back home, we had these fountains that would run along Main Street, most gorgeous things. You'd love 'em, if you love the stars." Everyone knew of Hazel's love and fascination with the stars, she talked about them a lot, but the men didn't mind. Instead, they found it adorable, her fascination with the stars and all. 

" Really?" Hazel asked him, her eyes shining. Malarkey nodded.

" Or the Niagara." Skip said, and Hazel's eyes widened, " Now her, she's a beauty. Swam it myself once." 

" More like skipped across the bridge," Don said.

" You know, that's actually how I got the nickname." Skip said. Hazel looked up at him.

" Don't tell me it was because you _skipped_?" Don asked blandly.

" It was most definitely because I skipped. And I skipped _everywhere_." Skip said with a proud smile.

" That's cute, Skip." Hazel said with a smile.

" I mean, hey, I'm not the only one with a cute nickname, you're literally so _tiny_ and your nickname is Tiny." Skip said as Hazel laughed. 

" His is bullshit." Skip said and Hazel let out an even louder laugh.

" Shut up, will ya!" Don said, reaching past Hazel to shove Skip's shoulder. 

" I'm kidding silly, but Sobel sure got a kick out of it." Skip said as Hazel giggled and watched as the tops of Don's cheeks turned pink.

" You didn't have to be so vocal," Don said as Skip laughed.

" They were gonna find out sooner or later, Don, plus I'm pretty sure they know malarkey is in fact slang for bullshit." Skip said as Don rolled his eyes.

" Hey, you 3, catch up!" George yelled as the trio walked faster towards the group. 

" Now, that's a sight to see." Don said as they approached the railing that overlooked the River Thames to Big Ben. It glowed like an ember in the night, lighting up the sky as a chilly wind blew against the group. Hazel then looked up towards the stars which seemed to shine so bright down upon them. 

As Hazel looked up towards the stars, the gentle tune of Bing Crosby's I _'ll Be Home For Christmas_ flowed through the speakers along the cobblestone pathways. Hazel gripped the cold railing and stared down at the flowing water of the River Thames. She felt saddened suddenly. Her mother wouldn't see her for a second Christmas. She could hear some of the guys goofing off behind her, their voices bringing an ounce of joy to her heart, because even though she wasn't home, she had the men and women of Easy Company. Hazel's eyes stayed looking out to the stars and Big Ben, as she listened to the quiet Christmas music and the water lapping against the sides of the riverbed.

" Hey, Tiny," a voice said and Hazel glanced over to see George beside her. 

" Hey, George." Hazel said softly, glancing back towards Big Ben.

" You doing ok? You seem out of it." George said. Hazel shrugged. George stepped closer to her and gently budged her shoulder. 

" C'mon what's bugging ya?" he asked her a smile playing on his lips.

" It's my second Christmas without my mom." Hazel told him with a sad smile, " But I guess that's war, right?" George glanced her way with a soft smile. 

" You know, she's probably watching the sky right now, thinking of you." George said with a nod. Hazel looked up at him and softly smiled and then nodded.

" Yeah," Hazel said, " I bet she has our Christmas tree up. And she'll wrap it in the most beautiful lights and beads and home made ornaments I made as a kid. And she'll probably have a few friends over, like Mrs. Barry or Mrs. Wilkes and one of our friends, Harry, who helps with all the gardening. And then my babcia and dziadek will come over usually." George smiled. 

" And of course the food, that's the part I'll miss." Hazel said with a sigh, " We always have turkey with gravy, and I make mashed potatoes or Kopytka and pierogis. And then usually makowiec for desert." Hazel missed that. She missed her mother's meals.

" Polish?" he asked her and Hazel nodded to him. 

" We have the best food on holidays." Hazel said, and rubbed her head, " I miss that."

" Well, when this war ends, you'll get that all back." George told her and she smiled." Can you say anything in Polish?" George asked her.

" Yeah, actually. My babcia has a heavier accent than my dziadek, but I learned a few things." Hazel said and cleared her throat, " Cześć George, nazywam się Hazel. Mam nadzieję, że twój dzień idzie dobrze." George stared at her completely confused.

" All I heard was my name." George said with a slight laugh. Hazel laughed.

" I said hi George, my name is Hazel. I hope your day is going well." Hazel said and George smirked.

" Yeah, I would've never guessed." George said and Hazel laughed, before their eyes settled on the water again. They watched the lights twinkle across the way as Big Ben reflected down upon the water, it's glorious lights faintly shining down. The Christmas tune was slowly fading out to a new song.

" Merry Christmas." Hazel said, even with Christmas a few weeks away. George smiled.

" Merry Christmas, Tiny." George said. And it would be the last normal Christmas they would ever experience. But they had each other and for now, each other was enough. 

December 13th though, caused Hazel to forget the Christmas joy that had once overwhelmed her entire being. Hazel sat beside Joe Liebgott as per usual as their plane climbed in altitude. And when she jumped, it was like any other normal day, as she guided her risers to the ground, and collapsed again, shock sent up her legs through her numb feet and finally clicking off her parachute with ease. She had been walking toward where she saw Catherine and Bill, but stopped when she heard yelling. Hazel glanced over her shoulder and watched as 3 paratroopers frantically began pulling a parachute up and off the ground. She raised a brow in the air. That's when Sobel was running over, eyes wide with Winters, Nixon, Harry and Moore behind him, Sergeant Evans tagging along a bit. Hazel watched with rooted feet as the cold wind blew. She watched paratroopers be backed away from the area and escorted away as Hazel saw Lip coming running up to them. 

" Catherine, find Bill and start moving the men back towards the DZ." Lip said.

" What's going on?" Catherine asked as Hazel glanced at him. 

" There's been an accident." Lip said and that's all he said before Winters yelled for him. Hazel looked at Catherine before she let out a sigh and had to take duty.

" Men! Start moving towards the DZ! Let's go!" she called and they followed her orders. Hazel watched Catherine frantically find Bill and tell him what Lip said as Hazel watched his eyes widen in what looked to be horror. 

It had been courtesy of a night jump that had killed Private Rudolph Dittrich. A boy who was no older than 20 killed not even in combat, but by a parachute mishap. 

What would that letter look like when it was to go home to his parents? 

To his siblings? 

Hazel that night was quieter as she retreated back towards the Burnett's at about 2300. Hazel hated to think of it in the way she did, but he was in a better place, without a war. His death must've been horribly brutal and terrifying though and that thought stayed with Hazel for quite some time. Lizzie found herself in the aid station that afternoon, while Hazel, Catherine and the rest of Easy Company were out working with weapons, something medics didn't carry. Eugene Roe was someone she felt she could be herself around mainly because he reminded her a lot of Hazel, with his calming demeanor and he would always listen to her if she needed to talk to him or ask him questions. Lizzie stood overtop of the medical book laid out in front of her, as she leaned up against the table, eyes narrowed.

" You stare any harder at that book, you're going to become the book." Gene said as he brought over a stock of new bandages beside her. Lizzie sighed and leaned back from the book and shut it. 

" There's nothing in there about patching a ruptured aortic aneurysm." Lizzie concluded. " I wouldn't suspect that it would be." Gene said as he walked to the book and opened it up and began flipping through the pages of the book.

" I bet they didn't put it in there because they think it couldn't happen on a battlefield." Lizzie concluded as she stood and walked to where the bandages were and began sorting through the bandages that were in the bin. 

" When we know that's not true, because virtually anything can happen." Gene confirmed and Lizzie nodded. She pulled out bandage after bandage and neatly made sure they were folded up perfectly before putting them in a pile.

" Here, found it." Gene said pushing the book towards her and pointing to the section. 

" Must've skimmed over it." Lizzie said as she leaned down next to Gene and looked at the page.

" You scared for war, Gene?" Lizzie asked him, as her eyes soaked up the words off the page. 

" Being scared's only the half of it." Gene said as he rubbed his neck. Lizzie glanced at him.

" All I can have is an ounce of hope that whenever we finally jump, we can make a difference in this world." Lizzie said and Gene glanced at her with a soft expression upon his face. 

Through training, he had learned to distance himself from everyone, to become a medic and strictly a medic, because there was always the chance in war that any man in the company could die or become heavily wounded, but now, with Lizzie sitting beside him with her quiet smiles, and her gentle words and her drive and passion for the medical world, he felt a sense of friendship, something he'd been missing. 

Hazel and Catherine remained at the rainy field where weapons were one of the major things they were practicing using at the moment. They would would have an intense week of heavy weapon preparedness and tactics and drills. Catherine had worked with her Thompson all through training, and her skills had honed in while they were in England these last few months, so they were razor sharp and skilled by this point, just as Hazel's were. Down the row Sink went, to each man, making him fire off a round of fire in front of everyone else, until satisfied that the man could shoot. When he came up to Catherine, he nodded her on and she quickly pulled the trigger and fired off the first round of bullets, without really shifting in her entire frame at the knock back.

" Well done, Sergeant." Sink said with a smile to Catherine and she nodded back. Sink went over a few tactics that each platoon could take as a group. They went over things like that through the afternoons of the heavy weapons training, which was quite nice in the rain. The group sat in a semi-circle around Sink who stood in the center with targets are the far end of the field. 

" Corporal Parker if you would come over here." he said one day. Hazel looked up from her weapon and watched as all the heads turned to her. She adjusted her helmet and walked forward towards Sink.

" Yes, sir." she said and saluted, and Sink saluted her back quickly. 

" How about you show a few practice shots with this beauty." Sink said with a bright smile to her, which made her smile slightly. There was a new version of the M1903A4 in his arms, with the Redfield scope. She nodded. She gently took the weapon from the Colonel's hands.

" As promised." Sink told her as she smiled up at him.

" Thank you, sir."

" It won't fog up with humidity much more, I've been told, and the knock-backs been tweaked with so it's not as rough as it had been." Sink explained and Hazel nodded to him. She then slowly got down on her stomach, and set the weapon up straight on its bipod for ground positions, before setting it up to complete readiness. 

She gently rested her check on the pad for her face, and set her eye in a straight path towards the target on the opposite end of the field. It was far away, if that's what anyone could tell. She leaned back and made a few extra adjustments to her scope and magnification before setting her check back on the pad. Her finger gently placed itself on the trigger and she sucked in a breath to steady herself. She did her practices and movements just like she had been taught by her father and the training the Army had somehow managed to provide. Then she pulled the trigger, and a loud crackling shot was heard ringing off and reverberating against the trees out in the distance. 

It was silent as the men and the girls and Sink watched her from behind. She sucked in another breath and took off another ear-piercing shot as it most definitely hit the target again. She finished the rounds off of the rifle, before letting out a breath and leaning back from rifle. She glanced up towards Sink with a tiny smile, and Sink let a smile slowly flow over his features. Hazel slowly glanced back looking towards the rest of the men that were watching her with wide eyes. There was a silence within the group, as their eyes were either on her or the sniper.

" How about you attach a silencer?" Sink asked her, handing her the enhancement. She gratefully took the silencer and attached it to the front of her sniper before getting back into her position. She rounded off a few more shots from the weapon, the silencer doing its job.

The men couldn't believe, that this tiny, shy and quiet, yet humble girl, would be operating this weapon in the war. Her entire persona, now with the weapon, made her even more deadly as an asset to the Airborne. No one would suspect a thing from the young girl about her motives, or what the rifle would have the capability of doing. She'd simply be in the background, quiet and calm, and shoot every last one of the Nazis that she needed to kill down. 

As Hazel ambled over to the group again, many of the men had their eyes directed towards Hazel who stood with an innocent smile.

" What?" she asked Joe Liebgott who was smirking at her from under the brim of his helmet.

" You could've taken out someone's eye." he said, and Hazel smirked up at him. 

" That's the point." she confirmed to him with a nod and Joe's eyes widened a bit. She smiled innocently then and there. That night, the group went out to a pub, as gentle Christmas tunes played from it, but it was warm inside, compared to the rainy outside atmosphere and it was very welcoming. Hazel found herself sitting with George again, as well Chuck, Floyd and Joe Liebgott.

" Still can't believe the public can't know about Operation Virago. I'm surprised no one's found out about it." Chuck said shaking his head, as he sipped his beer. 

" We've been moved around very discretely." Hazel admitted, " The restrictions have been rough to sort of move around, but once we got out of America we have some more freedoms out here at least, it's nice. But what was Sobel like? In Toccoa?"

" Oh, Sobel," George groaned.

" You're in for a treat." Floyd muttered next to her as George stood running a hand through his hair. He cleared his throat a bit and adjusted his lose tie.

" Hi-ho Silver!" George yelled, pointing a finger in the air and then running in place, " We are not Fox Company, we are not Dog Company, this! This is Easy Company!" Hazel had to let out a laugh at George's impression. 

" Why are you laughing!" George yelled coming around the table, holding back his own laugh as he came over her shoulder, pointing down at her, " There is not laughter in my company, there is no joy! Only hard work!"

" George stop!" Hazel laughed out shaking her head as the table erupted into laughter. George finally stepped back laughing and clapping his hands together.

" The guy was a shit show in Toccoa, but it's nothing we weren't used to." George said. Hazel smiled.

" Sounds like." she said. 

" Started shouting stuff like 3 miles up, 3 miles down as we ran up Currahee, the mountain there, a bunch of stuff." Chuck said leaning forward. 

" Hey even Joe Liebgott here got to get smacked in the head with a bayonet, that was a treat." George said wrapping his arm over Joe's shoulders, who shoved him off.

" Fuck you." Joe spat as George sat back laughing.

" Such a bundle of sunshine aren't you?" George commented as Joe rolled his eyes.

" Oh yeah and you're just the most precious angel." deadpanned Joe, as George laughed. Hazel smiled, and then noticed someone walking up to the table. 

" Well, well, well, if it isn't the Airborne Virago." he said, leaning against an empty chair. Hazel looked up at him with wide, nervous eyes, as the man's daunting blue eyes stared back at her, a smirk cast on his lips, and his hair looking rather fluffy. 

Hazel had to say though that Liebgott's hair looked better.

" Yeah, so the fuck what?" Joe asked sipping his beer, his eyes staying on the guy standing at the chair that was unoccupied. 

" Could I buy you a drink, sweetheart?" the man standing asked Hazel. And each Easy Company man watched her cheeks burn and her palms go sweaty. Hazel gulped. This never had really happened before.

" Uh, sure." Hazel said, as she slowly stood, and watched as the 4 men from Easy Company, grew serious, their expressions unchanged as they watched the man lead Hazel away. 

" Sorry about that back there, didn't mean to intimidate them." the man said as he guided Hazel towards the bar. Hazel looked up at him with a small, curt smile and a nod.

" You don't talk much do ya?" She offered a small smile and shook her head. She usually moved into this nervous, ' I won't speak to you mode ', when a guy did this with her. 

" What can I get for ya?" the bartender asked.

" 2 of your finest drinks." the man said as Hazel grimaced.

" I don't drink." Hazel said quickly as the man looked down at her, with a raised brow.

" Well, luckily we don't have to do much of that." the man said as he slowly leaned down coming closer and closer to Hazel. Hazel stepped back and into another person.

" Hey, watch it would ya?" the man she had bumped into snapped. Hazel gulped stumbling back a bit. She turned back to the man who was smirking at her.

" Yeah, I know, we're a bit public right now." the man said and Hazel feeling like her heart was in her throat, stared at him. There were these warning signals going off in her head, like big, red exclamation points, over and over. But she didn't have a clue what to do. 

" Here ya go." the bartender said as the man grabbed the drinks.

" Thank you," the man said and then turned to Hazel, " follow me." He guided her towards the back of the bar, a darkened and dim lit room, where only a few people were. He placed the drinks down and then sat in the booth right up next to Hazel. Hazel stared at him with wide eyes. 

" Now that we're in private." he whispered, looking at her with a smirk. He slowly leaned forward. But Hazel narrowed her eyes, and brought up her hands to his throat and pressed the pressure point. The man jumped back, grabbing at his throat before looking at Hazel.

" What the hell was that for?" the man said. Hazel narrowed her eyes. 

" I'm a Virago right?" Hazel said softly back, her mood darkening, a flip slowly being switched to a dark side, " I have a right to hurt someone if they touch me in a way I don't want to be touched."

" I haven't had a girl in years, please just let me have this for me." the man pleaded.

" And I haven't had a father for 11, so please let me out of the booth." Hazel said, staring at him coldly. Her gaze was unwavering as the man remained begging, whimpering, like the pansy he was.

" I said," Hazel whispered, her voice dropping dangerously low and unmatched in intensity, " get out of my way." The man stared at her, as her fists clenched, becoming white, her blue eyes turned red it seemed with anger watching him. Hazel never felt this way, never let this side of her take over, but now, feeling violated she let it. The man scrambled from the booth as Hazel held her chin up and slowly slid out from the booth with her, drink, in hand. She stood in front of the man who looked at her. 

" When you meet someone new, I advise you introduce them to yourself first and not try to kiss them, alright?" Hazel asked him, before showing him the drink and placing it beside his. She would've thrown it on him, but she wasn't one to make messes.

" You just wasted some money, by the way." Hazel said, blandly, before turning and stalking out of the room. As she walked away, her heart racing, her mind going absolutely insane, she felt a sense of pride. That she had gotten herself out of that situation, that she had known it was wrong and she stood her guard with herself. 

Hazel slowly approached the table again where the 4 Easy guys were and they all watched as she slowly sat down, the angry mood she was in 4 seconds ago, completely gone. They were watching her.

" How was it?" Chuck asked, knowing suspiciously how quick that 'drink' was.

" He didn't exactly like my actions I'd say." Hazel said, nodding as she sipped her Coke that was in front of her. Chuck raised a brow as Floyd looked at her oddly.

" What do you mean?" Floyd asked her.

" Well," she said softly, " he tried kissing me." 

" Hold the fuck up." Joe said turning to her. Hazel's cheeks warmed as he stared at her.

" Where is this guy?" Joe asked her. But Hazel held up a hand. 

" As a woman, you'd be surprised how many times things like that seem to happen." Hazel said quietly as the tension simmered down a bit.

" I told him off," Hazel said, " so please don't worry about it." There was a lot of crap Hazel Parker had gone through in her life time and she was not letting that be a part of it. 

" As a Virago, you learn things." Hazel said, " Such as, self-defense, something that I feel more women in this day and age need to learn." The men watched Hazel, interested in what she had to say.

" You sure are wise beyond your years, Hazel." Floyd said, but Hazel just smiled softly. 

" I just pick up on my surroundings and what's going on in each and every aspect of the life around me and focus it in on what's happening right now to anyone. I use that to then control my actions." Hazel explained. The men stared at her.

" And they say women aren't the best thing on this planet." Floyd said, smirking at her. Hazel softly grinned at him.

" I beg to differ." Floyd grinned as he leaned forward with a smile. Hazel smiled, genuinely that night.


	23. the unlikely friendship of joe liebgott

" Sometimes the best friendships are formed by the most unlikely pair."

_\- Kenneth G. Ortiz_

✰✰✰

Weekends usually ended, just as quickly as they started, with the company training relentlessly with Sobel, with the women were beginning to figure out why they all hated Sobel so much. He wasn't good at directions, or anything that had to do with directions in general, and including that, he couldn't lead a platoon anywhere without getting lost. 

Tipper was the one with the map, and Hazel managed to hear that Tipper would even tell Sobel he was wrong and Sobel would still ignore him. Hazel, Chuck and Joe continued their jokes on night hikes and hoped that Sobel wouldn't hear them as they did so, but it passed the long endless hours of walking. Christmas however was bliss. 

The company got Christmas Day off, and were served turkey, beautiful, delicious and luscious turkey. Hazel had never tasted something as good as the turkey she got to eat that night. She sat across from Catherine who was going through turkey like it was going out of style as she slowly drank more and more beer that was on the table laughing with Bill and Joe Toye like monkeys. Hazel quietly ate beside Joe Liebgott, who always seemed to be beside her when Shifty, George or Lizzie wasn't. But Hazel had grown use to his constant presence by her side. They talked about the stars a lot, and even if Joe didn't say he stargazed, they sometimes escaped the bars of Swindon, Birmingham or London and looked at the stars and just talked about their families, and for Hazel it didn't reveal too much of her past, which she hoped to conceal for a long time.

" Hey," Joe said nudging her shoulder, " you ok, Tiny?" Tiny, the nickname given by George, who sat on her other side, laughing at something Skip said and impersonating Sobel again. She was in fact a very Tiny person. 

" Yeah, just," Hazel let out a sigh and looked around, " homesick." Joe frowned at her.

" Well I'm sorry about that, wish I could do something about it." Joe said as he sipped his drink. 

" It's fine," Hazel said with a nod and a forced smile. Joe quirked a small smile. He gently wrapped an arm over her shoulders and squeezed it gently. She looked at Joe and smiled softly at him, his arm around her shoulders was comforting in its own way. Grace and Henry had gifts for Hazel, and there was a little stocking filled with chocolates and candies as well as a hand-sewn pair of gloves and a scarf and Hazel thought they were adorable. Hazel was grateful that Grace and Henry were playing parent figures, as a symbol for Hazel as they were here. It was comfort on another level. That night, before bed, when the candle light was slowly dying down and the snow fell heavier outside, Hazel wrote a letter to her mother in her notebook; the first in a while.

_Mom,_ _  
_

_I'm writing from a home in the little town of Aldbourne, England. There's a candle burning nearby, the light just barely out, and the little wisps of smoke are slowly rising to the ceiling. It's dark in the room I'm in; but it is 12 am so it makes sense. It's Christmas Eve and I want nothing more than to be home with you, but I want you to know I'm happy and safe and warm. The men and women of Easy Company have welcomed me with open arms and have embraced me as a little sister over the past year and a half. I'm in my old PT gear, with a blanket wrapped around me. You can see the stars brightly from where I am, from the window I look out of all the time. They're truly beautiful in the countryside._

_I've grown close to the men of the company and they're all so respectful and protective, but we banter a lot over the funniest things and that's what makes it such an enjoyable company. I've met a few other Polish members of Easy Company, one of them being Alex Penkala and he's been super sweet. I met Joe Liebgott as well, who makes me laugh and he's become like a sort of best friend to me, in a guy sense. I know I have the girls, but Joe's just always there, and he looks out for me. That's a nice feeling to have, especially now. I also met someone else, a sharpshooter and hunter, Darrell Powers, but we call him Shifty, because he's quick and 'shifty' on his feet in the field. We've shared a foxhole too many times to count by now and he's a great friend. There's also so many others here you would like, like Chuck or Floyd, Bill or Joe Toye, Don and Skip, George and Frank, Moe Alley or Alton More or Bull and Johnny and Eugene Roe, a medic with Lizzie. They're some of the most respectful men to the 3 of us women and it is a wonderful thing to feel as young women in a covert mission. I wish one day you can meet them all, just so I can show them the wonderful women who raised me. I always talk to them about you, and they always are so eager to listen and learn more about you. They're the best band of brothers anyone could ask for!_ _  
_

_It's getting quite late, and Christmas Morning will certainly be lovely this year with Grace and Henry Burnett, who I am living with for the next year or until the mission. I hope you have a lovely Christmas and that babcia and dziadek come to visit you. I love you mom._

_Your daughter, Hazel Parker_ _  
_

_PS, England has treated me well, and I have too many memories to count from being with these men and women. I am grateful. I love you!_

Hazel closed the tiny book and stared at the cover, running her fingers over the binding of the book, feeling the calming texture that reminded her of her mother's favorite coat back home that was also warm and fuzzy. Hazel turned and put the book on the bedside and snuggled back into bed, falling asleep to the gentle sounds of snow falling on the roof of the home. 

If homesick was the way to describe waking up on Christmas morning, than that was the feeling she felt so heavily in the pit of her stomach. 

Another Christmas without her mother.

But she was safe, warm, and loved and she needed to respect that because there were soldiers dying for their countries right now while she was safe. So Hazel slowly stood and headed downstairs towards the kitchen. As she moved down the stars, she could see snow falling still outside the window, as well as the gentle glow of lights on around the home. There was the sound of Christmas music on the radio in the sitting room, as well as a small purr from Freckles, the spotted ginger cat who liked to lie on the stars as the afternoon sun would come in through the window. 

Hazel gently pet his little head before sniffing the wonderful scent of a full English breakfast. Hazel stepped down into the foyer and turned right to peak into the sitting room where a fire was burning brightly and there were presents under the tree, all wrapped up beautifully in big bows. Hazel then glanced over her shoulder and into the kitchen and saw Grace moving about cooking, as Harry sat in a chair reading the paper, sipping his tea.

" Merry Christmas." Hazel said as she slowly walked into the kitchen. Both Grace and Harry looked up with smiles on their faces. 

" Hazel! Happy Christmas!" Grace called, putting down the plates in her hands to wrap the girl in a warm hug. Hazel relished the hug before Harry came over and wrapped the girl in a tight hug.

" We hoped you slept well, I know I'm always too excited to sleep for presents in the morning." Harry said and Hazel laughed.

" I slept well, but I have to admit, I'm very excited." Hazel said and the couple smiled.

" Well, go have a look, there's a few things there for you." Grace said with a grin her way and Hazel smiled, before turning and taking the step up into the foyer and then into the living room. Hazel slowly approached the Christmas tree and knelt down beside it, looking through the gifts for one's the were to have her name on it. 

" How about you open a few up, Grace won't mind, you're like a daughter to her." Harry said bringing his tea into the living room. Hazel glanced back towards him.

" Really?" Hazel asked him.

" Of course, of course, go right ahead." Harry said as he took a seat in a comfy chair Hazel had fell asleep in too many times to count. Hazel slowly pulled a box into her lap and carefully pulled off the wrapping paper. It was all so magically. 

Hazel had never really internalized Christmas and its meaning because of the images it always brought to her brain, but now she relished it because of the humanity it now reminded her of, and safety. Hazel received a few beautiful dresses from Grace, as well as more chocolates and a small perfume that Grace always wore that Hazel loved. There was also a few scarfs that Grace had promised would be helpful when war did come. Hazel was never more thankful, she had felt so loved, even away from home. 

Hazel was sitting on the couch playing with Speckles, Freckles' sister, with the new cat toy they got when there a knock on the door. Hazel slowly stood, with Speckles in her arms and wadded over to the door, before opening the door up. As she stepped back, a bit of blistery cold wind and snow hitting her, she was surprised to see Lieutenant Winters on the other side. A smile fell on Hazel's face, as Winters slowly removed his cover, and gave her a smile.

" Lieutenant Winters, come in." Hazel said stepping back.

" Thank you, Hazel." Winters said as he stepped inside the home. Hazel shut the door and turned to the Lieutenant.

" I just wanted to stop by and wish you Merry Christmas." Winters said as Hazel smiled up at him.

" Thank you, sir." Hazel said with a nod, her smile bright. 

" And this," Winters said reaching into his pocket, pulling out a piece of chocolate, wrapped in a pretty yellow bow, " is from Mr. and Mrs. Barnes. They know about the 3 of you in the 506th, and adore you all so much and told me to deliver it to you 3 for Christmas." Hazel took the piece of homemade chocolate and looked at it with soft eyes.

" Thank you so much, sir. It means a lot." Hazel said. Winters smiled at her.

" It's my pleasure," he said.

" Hi," a voice said and the two turned and saw Harry coming forward, " I'm Harry Burnett." 

" Richard Winters," Winters said shaking Harry's hand with a smile, who smiled back, " I just came to drop something off to Hazel."

" She's been a pleasure to house here." Harry said and Hazel smiled brightly. Winters looked towards her with a smile.

" It was nice meeting you, but I have two other women to drop things off too. I'll see you tomorrow Hazel." Winters said, squeezing her shoulder before opening the door and putting his cover atop his head again.

" Good bye, sir." Hazel said with a wave as Winters smiled and stepped back out into the snow. 

" That's my platoon leader." Hazel clarified to Harry who nodded.

" He's a great leader, sometimes I wish he was our CO more than our actual CO." Hazel said with a smirk.

" Well, we can all dream can't we?" Harry said as Hazel giggled. 

On the 27th, Hazel finally sent her letter home to her mother, hoping it'd fine her well in this bittersweet holiday time. 

When 1944 came, Hazel had of course been asleep and sadly sick as the rest of her friends celebrated that occasion at the pub. Grace though made delicious soup that warmed up Hazel and her prolonged fever, and made her happier that she was spending it here with the Burnetts than at the loud pub. Hazel was in the sitting room by the fire, hacking up a lung when a knock went off on the door. Grace, who was sitting and knitting and getting up every so often to get Hazel more water or to check her temp, looked up. Harry was out back working on the farm, so it wouldn't be him.

" I'll get it, dear." Grace said standing and putting her glasses down. When she opened the door she smiled wide and let out a jolly laugh.

" Well, she'll be happy to see you all." Grace said as Hazel looked over and watched as a bouquet of yellow flowers appeared with Joe Liebgott as the handler, with Shifty just behind him with Catherine and Lizzie bringing up the rear, with a laughing George Luz, which was no surprise.

" There she is!" Joe called noticing the girl on the couch, curled up into a blanket with sunken in eyes. Hazel smiled weakly.

" Hi." she croaked out.

" Aw, honey." Catherine said, as she frowned with sad eyes, hearing her lost voice. Joe was the first to reach her and pull her into a hug. 

" I'm sick." Hazel said as Joe held her close, smelling of pine and cigarette smoke. Joe pulled back with a smirk, a few strands of hair in his face.

" I don't care about that, Parker." Joe said, before holding out the flowers as the rest of the guys filtered into the room, " These are for you." Hazel smiled at him with blushing cheeks. 

" Aww, thanks guys." Hazel said, turning and coughing briefly.

" You can thank this guy right here," George said slapping Joe on the shoulders, to which Joe glared. 

" Thanks Joe." Hazel said to him and he smiled at her with a nod.

" How're you feeling?" Shifty asked her as he sat beside her but on the table in the center of the room close to the couch she sat on. 

" Terrible, the fever's been running for days." Hazel said. That's when Hazel noticed Lizzie coming out of the kitchen with Grace carrying a few pills and a cup of water, laughing lightly.

" Take some of these, Gene had them lying around." Lizzie said to her as she crouched by her side. Hazel took the pills and the water and then turned and coughed again and then rightfully groaned. 

" Thanks guys," Hazel said as she wiped her nose with a tissue, " I missed not being there yesterday."

" Oh you were sick, we want you better." Catherine said from the top of the couch leaning against it with a smile. The group talked for a while and caught Hazel up on the chaos of the night out at the bar. There was drunk Bill and Catherine who had sung songs together like a pair of drunk sailors, rather obnoxiously, and Lizzie lost her shoe a few times because of dancing, and there was a lot of cheering and celebrating. It had sounded fun just from hearing about it. 

Hazel was glad though that even being sick, her friends had fun moving into 1944. Eventually, duty called and the group wandered out, George leaving Hazel with a tight hug, before letting the door shut behind him. Joe was the only one to remain behind sitting beside her on the couch, staring at the fire.

" 1944." Joe said softly and then glanced at Hazel who frowned a bit.

" It would suck if this is how my year ends as well." she groaned and situated herself around a bit on the couch before letting out a groan, the fever persisting but her head ache fading from that stuff Lizzie had given her. Joe smirked at her.

" Hopefully this year ends with the war over." Joe said lazily.

" That'd be nice wouldn't it?" Hazel said as she sniffled and adjusted again. Fevers were so uncomfortable.

" What's San Francisco like?" Hazel asked him. Joe glanced at her. 

" It's beautiful." Joe said with a nod.

" With the Golden Gate Bridge?" Hazel asked him glancing towards him. Joe nodded.

" I used to take my ma up to this little restaurant along one of the nicest streets of the city. My sisters made fun of me, but it was for my ma, so of course I'd do. The lights always lit up the entire street and it always made my ma's eyes shine. Kinda like yours do. And we would be sitting outside, overlooking the city, as the sun set, and she'd tell the funniest stories. We watched the sky change colors, as we ate some of the best food I'd ever eat. And they would play some fancy music over the speakers, as people walked the streets. And then we'd head down to the piers, look out on the bay, just be part of the city life." Joe said, imagining those moments in his head now. 

When he glanced towards Hazel, he found her asleep, tiny snores escaping from her mouth. Joe smiled softly at the woman who he had never seen sleeping before. 

Sure, she had to be one of the most innocent members of the company, next to Shifty, and she looked so young and innocent awake but asleep she looked even younger. 

Joe carefully placed the flowers in the vase on the table and then pulled the blanket over Hazel and rubbed her shoulder. Joe then left the sitting room and gave a small smile and nod to Grace before heading out the door again. Hazel spent her night on that couch, sleeping. Hazel's fever disappeared within a few days and she was slowly able to feel herself being able to move around again. Her muscles were weak and exhausted and she had lost some weight from her poor appetite she usually had when sick.

" Hey, kid, how're you feeling?" Bill had asked her as they performed another 25 mile hike on Sobel's behalf. Hazel glanced up at him with tired eyes.

" I've been better, Bill." she said with a small smile.

" If you start feeling bad or something, I'll throw you up on my back, ok?" Bill said and Hazel gently laughed. 

" Thanks, Bill." Hazel said, " I'll let you know." Bill smiled at her and patted her shoulder before they continued. 

January 18th was a day that raised morale greatly. General Bernard Law Montgomery who commanded the 21st Army Group, where the 101st was attached to showed up to Chilton Foliat for an inspection, where he would review the entire regiment. The regiment awaited his thorough inspection that he gave to the group. The only words that he told them were that after seeing the 506th, he pitied the Germans. And that, that was truly that thing that spiked morale amongst the regiment as well as Easy Company. 

January continued with similar training, of hikes, and classes and jumps, and close combat fighting. The jumps were slowly becoming habitual, with the company waking and training and jumping and then doing some afternoon training and then being dismissed. Or the nights with the 2 to 3 day practices, the company was used to their close comrades by that point and there was a general appreciation for everyone. 

On the weekends, Hazel would help out at the Burnett's house with their farm when she wasn't hanging out with her friends. Grace provided Hazel with some extra farm clothes she had that she could change into, like overalls, and a loose collared shirt and boots and something to tie up her hair. Hazel enjoyed the ducks a lot, they always flocked together when she walked over with the tub of food for them. It was a peaceful reprieve from the war when training became too much.

" Hey farm girl!" a voice called as Hazel was down working with some of the pigs. She looked up and saw that it was Joe Liebgott in his Class A uniform. She smirked and slowly stood with one of the baby piglets in her arms as she walked over with a small smirk. Joe leaned against the fence, eyes on the piglet.

" Who's this?" he asked.

" She's the runt, Harry named her Abby." Hazel said as she gently pet the pigs head. Joe smiled at her and then reached forward and gently pet the little piglet who squealed a bit. Joe chuckled a bit, as he looked at her clothes.

" So, farm girl?" he asked her. She looked at him and rolled her eyes.

" I'm not cleaning in PT gear." she said with a smile. Joe smirked at her.

" Some of the guys were thinking of heading out to one of the pubs, you in?" he asked her. Hazel looked at him, as Joe looked at her with soft eyes. She bit her lip.

" Maybe...."

" Aw, come on Tiny, it'll be fun, we'll stargaze again, get out of the bar." Joe said, leaning against the fence. 

" Is that what you say now to convince me to go to these places?" she said with a smirk.

" Come on, what else am I for?" he asked her.

" Being annoying," she said, as she looked back down at the piglet again. She looked up again and Joe was looking at her with a raised brow.

" Sarcasm? Who are you and where did Hazel Parker go?" he said with a smirk. Hazel bit her lip with a smile. 

" I can be funny," she said as she pet in between the little piglet's ears. Joe chuckled.

" Guess you can say I'm a good influence." Joe countered. Hazel raised a brow. 

" Good influence?" Hazel said with a slight laugh. Joe smirked proudly at her.

" Remember? I am allowed to be one." Joe said. Hazel raised her brow further. 

" Right," Hazel muttered, as she looked back down at the piglet, " asshole."

" Whoa, and you curse now? I must be the good influence." Joe said and laughed as Hazel smirked at him. 

" Shut it." she muttered shaking her head with a smile.

" So, what do you say?" he asked her. She shrugged.

" I have to make sure I don't have more work here." she said with a small smile.

" Well, if you change your mind, we'll be at the usual." he told her with a nod and a smile.

" Maybe I'll stop by." she said with a shrug, and then smiled at him.

" Hopefully," he said and then leaned back from the fence, " Maybe I'll see you then."

" Maybe." she said with a smile. He nodded to her as he placed his cap on his head. 

" You look cute, by the way, the whole get-up." he told her. She rolled her eyes, as she felt her cheeks heat up a bit.

" Shut up," she muttered, looking at him as he laughed to himself. 

" C'mon, I'm not lying." Joe said and smirked at her as she rolled her eyes.

" Get to the pub, I'll be there later." she said, with a smirk to him.

" Right, I'll see ya Tiny." he said, as he turned and walked away. She smirked and shook her head.

" Boys are crazy, Abby." she told the little piglet, who squealed a bit. She giggled to herself. She went to the bar that night, after finishing her help with the Burnett's and found before even heading inside, Joe, sitting outside, looking up at the stars. Hazel raised a curious brow but slowly retreated towards him. 

" Joe?" she asked and he looked towards her quickly.

" I knew you'd show up." Joe said and Hazel just smirked slightly before sitting down beside Joe again and looking up at the stars.

" You said you didn't stargaze, Joe." Hazel said.

" Well, I have 4 sisters back home, who always would, so..." Joe trailed off, watching them.

" What are your sister's names?" Hazel asked, swinging her feet on the bench as they didn't touch the ground.

" Well, there's Mary, then Elizabeth, then Anna, then Barbara." Joe said as Hazel looked at him," I also have a younger brother, Stephen, carbon copy, I'd say."

" You sound like you have a nice family." Hazel said as she glanced at him. Joe glanced at her. 

" Yeah, I'd say I do, but mama runs the house. You respect her or you get a slap." Joe said and Hazel smiled shyly, as Joe glanced at her.

" 'Course, you know me, I upset her a few times when I shouldn't have." Joe said. Hazel watched him. 

" I got in fights a lot, bruised bloody knuckles, some skinny guy like me getting beat up in the bar down the street." Joe said, shrugging before looking at Hazel, " Ever since I was a kid really." Hazel softly watched him, with concerned eyes.

" I'd get pushed down in the park?" Joe started, nodding his head as he picked at his fingers, annoyed, " I'd cry. And I'd go running home to my mom, where she'd give me hugs and kisses, and then some of that Hershey's chocolate." 

" It's why you love it so much." Hazel said, shifting closer to Joe in the cold and looking at him gently. Joe felt a small smile on his face as he watched her.

" Yeah, you could say that." Joe said as Hazel grinned. 

" I love her more than anything." Joe said as Hazel watched the guard that Joe normally held up break down a bit, " Sometimes I regret it all, joining the war. Because there are things I wish I could've told my ma before I left." Hazel looked at Joe, as she sat beside him. Then she glanced at his knuckles, and the tiny scars that were left on them.

" I didn't have much friends in school, I was always in fights, going to the principal's office, stuff like that, but I tried to make sure my ma didn't know. I couldn't have her worrying." Joe said as Hazel looked at him. 

" She just wanted the best for me and I, I think I let her down more than I needed to." Joe said, shaking his head, " I was reckless as a teen." Hazel softly looked at him.

" Besides the fights, there was the smoking and the drinking, and then of course, ya know, girls." Joe said shaking his head, " Sorry I'm even telling you this." 

" Hey, Joe." Hazel said as he looked towards her, " It's nice to get it off your chest every once and a while." Joe nodded, with a small smile before he looked down.

" It's just, I trust you, you feel like a friend." Joe told her and Hazel grinned softly. 

" You got a friend in me, Joe Liebgott." Hazel said as she smiled up at him. 

An unlikely one at that. 


	24. manuvers

" If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun."

_\- Katherine Hepburn_

✰✰✰

As Hazel went home that night, she thought a lot about what Joe had told her. He just wanted his mom to be proud of him, for doing something for himself for once, but he couldn't help but look past on all his mistakes from long ago. 

It seems the war was good at doing that. 

Making you reflect and regret.

But Hazel just wasn't making friends with Joe, even though she felt closest with him, there was George Luz, Don and Skip, Chuck and Floyd, and especially Shifty. And of course Bill and Joe, who were like those tough, but soft uncles you had on your mom's side. 

The days were getting longer again as winter was beginning to pass. And that could only mean one thing. There would be a drop soon, somewhere. And that meant death and despair and a slow tension that crept up among everyone. 

Hazel found herself writing more letters to her mother each and every night, even if they all came at once. She hated to think the way she did, but she thought that if she didn't make it home, her mother would have things to remember her. She hated that thought. But she pushed it from her head most of the time and tried to stay a bit more positive. 

Running maneuvers were a part of Easy's normal routine when training, and Sobel also was involved in that, but that wasn't exactly exciting at the same time. 

2nd platoon had been placed into the hands of Winters and needless to say, Hazel and Catherine were relieved to know they were with him. Winters was reliable and when given an order he knew what to do with it, and the women could trust him. 

The platoon moved across a field, surrounded by bushes in the English countryside. Hazel moved next to Chuck and watched as Winters gave him the signal to crouch behind the bushes ahead, before moving over to the closer hedge, next to Lipton. 

Lipton had been another favorite of the girls. Like Winters, he cared for their wellbeing, and he respected each and everyone of them for what they all brought to the table. Just the other day, he found Lizzie working late at night alone in the cold medical station, and made sure she got home ok that evening. 

Catherine looked over her shoulder towards Winters and Lipton as she crouched behind Hazel and narrowed her eyes as she watched WInters glance at his watch and Lipton's eyes begrudgingly follow.

" Sobel's late." she heard Winters say through panting breaths. Catherine forced a scream down her throat before turning and tapping Hazel on the shoulder. Hazel turned with bright blue eyes, her sniper gear making her blend more into the bush than show she was a paratrooper. 

" Sobel's late." Catherine said with a grievance in her voice.

" Are we surprised?" Hazel asked with a sigh, and Catherine shook her head. This always happened, so she knew why Winters was not freaking out too much at the moment. 

1st platoon, lead by Sobel, ran down a hill in the southern valley of the English countryside. 

Lizzie was beyond annoyed with their current leader, lugging the heavy-ass bag filled with medical supplies in the complete wrong direction. She'd ran beside Tipper as they crossed the field and quickly asked him, and he said how they were going in the wrong direction, but Sobel wouldn't change his path. Perconte held up his hand to stop the moving platoon and Lizzie came to a stop, moisture and condensation developing on her helmet in the dewy morning air, making it drip off her helmet as if it were rain. She watched as Sobel walked toward Tipper, Evans right behind him, and immediately beginning to question why a fence happened to be in his presence.

" Why is there a fence here?" he said through panting breaths, as the rest of the platoon kneeled to one knee. Lizzie watched as Tipper pulled the map from his OD pocket as Sobel's eyes trailed the length of the fence earnestly. Tipper easily could get Sobel confused with the maps. 

" There should be no fence here." Sobel said before looking towards the platoon, " Tipper!"

" Yes, sir," said Tipper from right beside him. Lizzie suppressed a laugh. She never had seen Sobel whip around faster in her life to face the man with the map.

" Give me the - _map_." Sobel said with a stammer taking the folded leather in his hands. Sobel looked at the map, seemingly got frustrated and turned to the platoon. 

" Perconte, Luz," he informed, and Lizzie glanced at him with a raised brow, " Get the men, get 'em b-. _Take cover behind those trees_." Sobel said pointing towards the big bunch of trees a few meters away.

" You heard the word." Luz said.

" Yes, sir." Perconte answered, " You heard him move out, up, up." The two stood and made the other remains of 1st platoon stand and follow them toward the tree line.

" Perconte?" Skinny asked the man. " Sobel's lost again, right?" 

" Yeah, he's lost." Perconte answered with a grimace in his voice.

" Fucking christ." muttered Skinny as Lizzie came to stand beside him as her eyes made narrow bullet paths toward the back of his head. 

" Hey, Luz, Luz." Perconte said whipping around as Luz moved behind the 3.

" Hey can you do Major Horton?" Frank asked with a slight chuckle, and a smile lit up LIzzie's face. She looked at George with shining eyes. George Luz was infamous in Easy Company for his spot on impressions of anyone. He impersonated Catherine not too long ago and Lizzie had been doubled over laughing by that point. Skinny let out a chuckle from next to her as George smirked. 

" Does a wild bear crap in the woods, son?" George said in a John Wayne-esc voice, making the people in the tiny group laugh, and Lizzie giggled.

" Shh, shh, shh." Frank said through laughter, " Maybe the good major can goose this schmuck. Get us moving?"

" No way-"

" Oh yeah, yes,"

" You gotta, you gotta."

" Come on, Luz." 

" All right, just this once." Luz said with a smile and Lizzie could practically feel her heart exploding. She was too excited to hear this. Excitement erupted in the tiny group still standing, but Luz shushed them jokingly as they all crouched down. George cleared his throat, and glanced at Lizzie who was giggling beside a chuckling Skinny.

" Is there a problem, Captain Sobel?" George called out, in his Major Horton voice, making Lizzie snort. 

" Who said that? Who broke silence?" Sobel yelled back immediately. The group let out strained laughs again in an attempt to hold back the tears of laughter.

" What is the god-damn holdup, Mr. Sobel?" Luz yelled again, making the group buckle over with laughter, as Lizzie shoved her head into Skinny's shoulder to prevent a louder, cackling laugh from escaping and being heard. What made it even better was that Luz managed the dorkiest, yet most serious expression on his face as the group cackled. 

" A fence, sir. Um, god....a barbed wire fence." Sobel hollered back.

" Oh, that dog just ain't gonna hunt." Luz called back and Lizzie's chuckles reached their ears. Skinny's laugh caused Lizzie to laugh harder and she had to contain them even more as her face turned red. 

" Shut up." Luz whispered as he suppressed his own laughter, " Now you cut that fence and get this goddamn platoon on the move!"

" Yes, sir!" Sobel yelled back. Lizzie's face remained red from laughter the entire jog back the right way through that barbed wire fence. 

Catherine glanced at Winters again as Winters looked at his watch.

" We have to move." she heard Winters say.

" Sir, without Captain Sobel and 1st Platoon?" Lipton asked him quietly. 

" It's a 'T' intersection. We improvise." Winters said, " Double envelopment laid on a base of fire to cut the road in all directions. Hook right with 1st squad. Tell Guarnere to move left with 2nd. I'll be right up the middle with 3rd. Go."

" Yes, sir." Lipton said before turning and moving towards 1st squad where Catherine and Hazel both were. Guarnere sat with 2nd squad back a ways, as Winters gave him hand signals and directions. Lipton came up to 1st squad and quickly delivered instructions for them to exhibit. 1st moved over the hedge, and Catherine glanced at an old man on a bike going down the road. 2nd and 3rd squad experienced the same. Hazel questioningly glanced at the old man and uttered a sort of sorry his way even though she knew he wouldn't hear it. Just as 3rd squad settled with 1st and 2nd, the sound of Sobel's voice came from down the road.

" Hi-ho Silver!" he called, and Catherine and Hazel stood up together side by side seeing Sobel running, 1st platoon in tow and Lizzie, bright red in the face, laughing down the entire stretch.

" Good work 2nd platoon, we took the objective." Winters said coming up to stand with the group, as he watched Sobel make way. Lizzie was still laughing; Hazel and Catherine glanced at each other, and watched as Lizzie nearly choked on her own air while suppressing laughter. 

Oh how they knew there was going to be a funny story tonight at mess hall.

" What the hell were you laughing about the entire time you run up that road?" Catherine asked Lizzie as she sat down at dinner, with Tipper beside her, grinning as well. Bill looked up from his meal next to Hazel.

" What the hell you talking about?" he asked the two. Lizzie and Tipper looked at each other and then broke out in laughs. 

" Lizzie was bright red faced, laughing the entire time she was running behind Sobel." Catherine said, and Hazel nodded from next to her.

" We've been waiting all day to hear this." Hazel said. 

" What are we talking about?" a new voice asked as Liebgott shoved in next to Hazel.

" Shhh, Quiet Lieb." Catherine snapped. Hazel looked at him with a finger held up to her lips telling him to be quiet. He raised a brow at her and she winked, rather cheekily and turned back away. Liebgott smirked. 

" The hell was that, Tiny?" he muttered in her ear.

" Shut up." she muttered. 

" Sobel led us towards this barbed wire fence, and Tip, who had the map, knew Sobel was going in the wrong direction, but Sobel wouldn't listen. Sobel tells us to go behind the hedge of trees, because he's so lost and confused and clearly aimlessly wandering at this point, that it looks hopeless." Lizzie said, as Tip smirked, suppressing a laugh. Joe Toye then arrived and slid in next to Bill.

" What are we talking about?" he asked.

" Shut up." Catherine spat, and turned back to Lizzie nodding her on to continue.

" So we're behind the hedge and Frank asks if George can do a Major Horton impersonation, so of course he does it." Lizzie said and she broke down into a fit of giggles, which sent the rest of the group laughing. " Sobel starts thinking that Major Horton is moving between platoons and commanding the platoons now, and Sobel gets all scared and frantic and terrified because he thinks it is Horton when it's Luz." By now the entire table was laughing at how poor Sobel's leadership and confidence levels were at the moment. 

" That's what I was laughing the entire time up the road, because he was acting like Horton had just told him to get moving and it was Luz. I couldn't stop laughing, I'm surprised he didn't court-martial me for all the laughing." Lizzie said and the group was in chuckles by now.

" I'm surprised Sobel didn't go after you, Tip." Catherine said looking at the 'map-man' with a smirk.

" Oh he did," Tip said and Lizzie looked at Tipper.

" He did?" she asked him.

" Yeah, silly, but you were too busy laughing." Tip said through a laugh that made Lizzie break into a fit of uncontrollable giggles again.

" I'm sorry, Tip." Lizzie said, as she let out a laugh again, " It was too funny." 

" Sobel stops me once we get back and goes to look at the maps again and can't figure it out. Then he starts telling me the angle in which the map was held to his face was wrong." Tip said. Catherine snorted as Hazel giggled.

" The angle of the map to his face?" Catherine laughed out as Bill snickered. 

" What'd he have to drink before this?" Joe Toye said with a growing smirk as Lizzie laughed shaking her head.

" Please tell me that's why there is all those cows near HQ?" Catherine said through a laugh. Lizzie let out a wheeze, nodding trying to hold her breath back from her laughter, but soon the whole table was laughing again. Sobel couldn't lead that was for sure. 

By the end of March, 'big unit-oriented' jumps were becoming the usual, as members of the 101st. It was rumored to be a rehearsal attack for whenever the initial attack would be, where they would be attacking. It was a rumored inspection visit for Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, US First Army commander Omar Bradley, General Maxwell Taylor who commanded the 101st, plus a multitude of other highly notable leaders. Hazel's heart raced the entire time the plane ascended up into the sky, but once she had jumped, flying like a bird, she was happy again, with a calmed heart rate. 

But with the training that the paratroopers were accustomed to by that point, Hazel rolled right out of the parachute and started running towards the DZ just like her fellow paratroopers and it seemed to impress each and everyone of those notable commanders that overlooked them. General Taylor invited both Eisenhower and Churchill to inspect the mighty group of paratroopers and they went through the rows, stopping at a few soldiers every once and a while. He surprisingly stopped in front of Hazel.

" Where are you from?" Eisenhower asked as he looked down towards her with wise eyes.

" Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, sir." Hazel said with a small smile.

" And what did you do before the war?" 

" I worked with my mother in different grocery stores, I had just graduated high school and was planning to go to college in the fall, but instead I signed up for the WAC, sir, before being accepted into Virago Company." Hazel explained and Eisenhower smiled.

" I picked you to become a sniper didn't I?" Eisenhower asked her.

" Winston, this is the woman I picked for the sniping position that I was talking about." Eisenhower said turning to Churchill.

" What is your name?" Churchill asked her.

" Hazel Parker, sir." Hazel said to him with a smile.

" I have confidence in you, young lady." Churchill told her and Hazel smiled beautifully at him.

" Thank you, sir." she said, accepting the compliment. As they then moved on down the line, Hazel's heart racing, Hazel couldn't help but glance back towards Catherine and Lizzie who were smiling at Hazel with such pride and love. 

They looked proud. 

Large maneuvers continued throughout the rest of March, as the group continued flying the same route each day over and over, with their accuracy becoming even better and their confidence soaring by this point in time. It was a good feeling to finally have. 

It became warm again, spring hitting Aldbourne with sunshine and blooms. But somehow it also meant that Sobel became more impending and annoying as ever. News spread quickly that Sobel had punished Winters simply because he had wanted Winters to inspect the latrines at 0945, but Winters had inspected it at 1000. Sobel had changed it, and not directly alerted Winters, so now Sobel blamed Winters for not performing the duties given to him. Winters had no phone connection and said no runner had found him. Winters had then requested trial by court-martial after that, but it certainly didn't mean the enlisted were to let it go. Many people had many opinions and the hatred for Sobel and his implications increased. 

The NCOs were the main ones angered by Sobel's approach to certain situations. 

Catherine sat with the rest of the NCOs in a barn with rain pouring outside heavily, a cool mist streaming in. Her feet were kicked up as she stared out at the rain, and her raven colored hair was pulled back away from her face into a low messy bun. It was quiet for the most part, the rain the only part being heard, but the rest of the NCOs and herself were waiting for Ranney to return from Battalion with the news on Winters.

" We lost Winters to Battalion mess." Ranney said marching in straight past Tab who stood at the door, previously waiting for him earnestly. 

" You're shitting me." Tab called out in disgust, as Ranney pulled his cap from his head, a disgruntled feature on his own face.

" Nah, Strayer did it while they try to figure out the procedures for his court-martial." Ranney said as Harris walked over to the two others and watched as they, rather angrily poured themselves coffee if Catherine thought so herself. 

" Well, Nixon better find a loophole and get him out," Tab said with a grimace. Talbert was a close comrade of Winters, one of Winters favorites, and Catherine knew at the moment that he was not having it.

" And if he doesn't?" Harris asked. " Winters scrambles eggs while the rest of us make the big jump with Sobel." 

" I'm not doing that." Catherine said as she sipped her coffee, " There's no way I'll make that jump with him and die in his hands." Tab slid in next to her with his steaming cup of coffee.

" It's bullshit is what it is." Tab muttered.

" Couldn't agree more." Catherine muttered out. Tab sighed, as Bill came and sat down next to Lip and so did Chuck. Bull and Martin wandered over again with their coffee and sat down, both with disgruntled faces, they knew where their conversation was going to lead and what decision they'd have to make especially as NCOs.

" Not me." Bill said, glancing towards Frances. 

" So we're going through with this, right?" Chuck asked leaning forward, and Catherine bit her lip.

" We gotta do something." Ranney said shaking his head. Agreements rang around the table at that statement. 

" All right. Good." Lip said, and looked around the table with his gentle eyes. " But we'd all better be clear of the consequences."

" I don't care about the consequences." Martin said from the end of the table making the rest of the NCOs glance toward him. 

" John," Lip said gently, " We could be lined up against a wall and shot. Now, I'm ready to face that. And every one of us had better be too." Lipton met the eyes of each man and woman at the table. He hovered on Catherine's knowing eyes a bit longer. The girl was smart and extremely intelligent, she knew right from wrong, and she knew what they had to do in this situation.

" I will not follow that man into combat." Bill said matter-of-factly. Lip nodded. 

" Me neither." Bull said. The men looked toward Catherine.

" I will not drop into enemy territory with that man as my leader." Catherine said. 

" All right." Lipton said nodding seriously. " Then let's do it." Catherine sighed and pulled a piece of paper from her breast pocket and a pencil as well and placed it on the table as the rest of the NCOs begrudgingly did the same.

" I hereby," Bill started, as everyone else began writing, " no longer wish to serve as a non commissioned officer in Easy Company." Catherine sighed as she signed her name with a hint of pride. 

" All right, boys and lady. Good luck." Lipton said looking at the group, as he collected the papers. Just as Catherine sat back, she heard echoing footsteps enter the barn and the entire group looked up to see it was Hazel soaked to the bone in rain water, her hair dripping wet, breathing heavy. It was visible that there were tears in her eyes and that they were mixing with the rain water on her cheeks.

" Hazel?" Tab asked looking at her worriedly. Hazel opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again to suck down the evident cry. Catherine slowly stood and walked over to the girl and wrapped an arm over her shoulder comfortingly. 

" Let's go sit down." Catherine said softly and Hazel nodded as the two women walked further into the barn and left the men behind. Catherine gently sat down next to Hazel on a ledge in the barn and glanced at the girl.

" What happened?" Catherine asked softly, reaching up to brush some of Hazel's wet hair from her face. Hazel sniffled, and let a few tears squeeze out. 

" It was Sergeant Jenkins," Hazel whispered, " I let him get to me."

" Oh, Hazel." Catherine said, wrapping her arm over Hazel's shoulder and bringing her close. Hazel put a hand to her face and let out a weak sigh, wiping tears from her cheeks.

" Why am I even crying?' Hazel said in a weak sob attempt.

" What did he say to you?" Catherine asked softly. 

" I don't wanna say, I should've just told him off." Hazel whispered. Catherine looked down at Hazel.

" I'm just doubting everything." Hazel whispered, as she sucked up a quiet cry. 

" Does that have something to do with what he said to you?" Catherine asked her. Hazel nodded against her.

" I'm not good enough, even with all this training. I just, I don't know if I can do it." Hazel whispered, as her voice broke at the end of it. 

" Hazel look at me." Catherine said and Hazel looked up at her with tear filled eyes.

" You are good enough," Catherine said, looking at Hazel with gentle, honest eyes, " and you are good enough for everyone in this company. These people, in other divisions and regiments and companies, they don't know how amazing and talented you are at what you do." Hazel looked up at Catherine. The words from Sergeant Jenkins felt imprinted on her heart and a newfound fear and doubt sweltered her system; she didn't have to the heart to repeat what Sergeant Jenkins had said, slithering over from the 82nd Airborne's positions, just to taunt her endlessly for no apparent reason and rile her up. Hazel was already worried, about everything and about everyone. What he had said, had hurt her, and it was all her combined fears into one. 

" Thank you, Catherine," Hazel said softly, " I might just sit here for a little bit."

" How about you go sit out with the boys, just to have some company. I'll make sure they don't start questioning you." Catherine said rubbing her shoulder. Hazel looked up at Catherine and nodded softly. 

" Let me help you wipe those tears away," Catherine said bringing up her hand to wipe at Hazel's cheeks, " I know you're strong, but it is ok to cry." Hazel nodded, she knew that was true.

" C'mon," Catherine said, helping the girl stand to her feet, and looking at her.

" It's ok," Catherine whispered, " don't let someone like him get to you." Hazel nodded. And that was the truth. Don't let someone belittle you to feeling worthless, it wasn't worth it. Catherine and Hazel eventually reappeared to where the rest of the men were, drinking coffee and many of the men in the room looked over seeing the cold and soaked Hazel shivering and the 'brow-raised' Catherine.

" You ok, kid?" Bill called out to her coming over worriedly seeing the girl soaked to the bone. 

" I'm ok." she said.

" Are you sure?" Bill asked her, " Someone give me a blanket."

" How about you make her a coffee?" Catherine suggested with a nod.

" Shut up." muttered Bill, " You want sugar?" Hazel nodded. Bill turned away as Bull stood.

" Here, take my chair." he said, as Talbert came over with a blanket. Hazel slowly sat down in the chair, soaked, and let Talbert wrap the blanket around her shoulders.

" Thanks Tab." Hazel said as she shivered and pulled the blanket closer around herself. Talbert patted her back gently and sat down by her side, wrapping an arm over her shoulder comfortingly. 

" What happened?" Bill asked coming over with her coffee and taking a seat on her other side from Tab, as Martin came over with his own coffee. Hazel looked hesitantly toward Catherine who let out a puff of smoke and walked over to the men.

" You guys don't have to worry about it." Catherine said standing next to Hazel who was quiet. The men glanced at each other.

" She's part of the company though." Johnny argued, " If there's something bothering her, we should try to help her."

" I'm fine, guys, promise." Hazel said, but many of the men didn't buy it. They figured though that if she said that, they should let it go. Hazel didn't miss the looks each man gave her of concern and worry for one of the youngest members. 

" You sure, Tiny?" Talbert asked her. Hazel nodded.

" Yeah, thanks guys." she said with a small smile sipping the coffee.

" This is good coffee, Bill." she said quietly and Bill smiled, looking to the rest of the men who chuckled at her comment.

" Told ya," Bill said smiling.


	25. the strength of ncos

" Not in numbers but in unity that our great strength lies."

_\- Thomas Pane_

✰✰✰

Catherine eventually left the barn, on a mission to see the one and only Lieutenant Lewis Nixon. Catherine had only talked to Lewis Nixon on a handful of unfortunate situations, that put her in a position of 'oh I know geography' and 'wow Sobel's being stupid again', and she'd stepped in numerous times to try and clear the air between Nixon and Sobel. Supposedly, Sink had caught on, as well as Strayer and Sobel. 

So there Catherine was, on her way up to Strayer's office, where Nixon was supposed to end up meeting her, with new information for her. Catherine slowly stepped inside the huge home that had been converted into officer's offices. It smelled musty. 

Catherine slowly headed up the stairs towards where she had been told Strayer's office was when she nearly walked straight into Lieutenant Speirs, a mysterious, dark-haired man who ran a platoon in Dog Company and had been fiercely competent when it came to respecting the women of Easy Company, drilling the men of Dog Company about the importance of respecting _all_ soldiers in the field. Whatever he had said to them seemed to stick because Catherine had yet to hear high nor hair from a Dog Company member.

" Sorry, sir." Catherine said as she stepped down a step to let the Lieutenant pass by. He offered a small smile, which might've been forced, but the exhausted look in his eyes said otherwise. 

" Lieutenant Nixon up there?" Catherine asked him.

" Yeah he's up there alright, getting an earful from Strayer." Speirs told her, as she nodded, putting her tongue in her cheek.

" Right, sir, I would've suspected. Thank you." she said, and then turned and hurried up the few sets of stairs towards the office. As she approached, she could hear Strayer's voice clearly loud, overwhelmed and angry. As she stepped inside, she saw Lieutenant Nixon, leaned up against a sand table, fingers pressed tenderly to the bridge of his nose, looking rather stressed out as well. Nixon finally looked up when he saw the woman enter the room.

" Thank Christ," Nixon muttered through a smoke as she gave a salute and walked over to the two. 

" Glad you're here, McCown." Strayer said looking back down at the map. Catherine nodded. She didn't have a clue why she was here, but she considered just going with it at this point.

" Let me grab something real quick." Strayer said, as he turned and moved towards the wobbly desk that was fixated in the corner of the room. Nixon pushed up from his bent position against the desk and approached her with a smirk. She raised a brow.

" What, sir?" she asked, a sarcastic tone flooding her voice.

" Get ready for this when you see it." Nixon said to her, as he placed the cigarette back on his lip.

" Sergeant McCown, I think that now is a wonderful time for an upgrade." she heard Strayer say and Catherine glanced up towards him, to see Strayer coming over with a pin between his two fingers.

" Lieutenant McCown." Strayer seemed to correct as he stopped in front of her. Catherine's eyes widened as she looked towards Strayer. 

" Sergeant no more, McCown, seems we need you more up here than there. And you'd make a competent and intelligent Lieutenant." Strayer informed her. I'd hope, she thought to herself with a grateful smile to him. But a Lieutenant?

" Sir?" she asked, still completely and utterly confused as to why she was becoming a Lieutenant. 

" No need for those big, worried eyes, McCown, you're suited for this position." Strayer said as he pinned the bar to her collar. Catherine continued staring at him wide eyed. She was still confused.

" No need for the stripes either, I suggest when you get back to your billet that you remove 'em." Strayer said before clipping the pin into place. 

" Yes, sir." Catherine said with a nod. What was she doing as a Lieutenant? Well, now that mutiny had just been enacted would this change? She couldn't even begin to think about that.

" No, don't get me wrong, McCown," Strayer called as he wobbled walking back this desk and sifting through a shit-load of papers, " you probably think there's been a mistake. But there isn't." Catherine glanced at Nixon who sat with a smirk on his face, shaking his head like he couldn't even believe this conversation existed. 

" What am I going to be doing?" Catherine asked, " Sir, um. God." Catherine groaned to herself, completely confused.

" You, Lieutenant McCown, are going to assist Lieutenant Nixon, in many ways with intelligence. You attended Cornell is that correct?" Strayer asked her.

" Yes, sir. I studied geography as a minor, mostly of the Great War, and majored in psychology. I was the only woman in my class." Catherine clarified. 

" He says it's why you're perfect for the position." Nixon muttered from beside her with a smirk on his face. Catherine made a face that seemed to make Nixon laugh.

" Sink was the one to recommend you actually." Strayer said as he sifted once again through the stack of papers that remained on his desk, " Damn map." Boy would Sink be so happy to see she just committed mutiny. Lord. 

" You, will be assisting Lieutenant Nixon with your mapping skills, as well as remain a platoon leader, but you will rotate throughout the 3 platoons as well, keep your face shown through the company, things like that." Strayer explained. Catherine was surprised.

" Sir, I don't think-"

" Lieutenant McCown, if Sink thinks ya can, I think you can, as well as Nixon, then you can, hear me?" Strayer said.

" Yes, sir." Catherine answered with a quick nod to him.

" Alright, well, let's get started then." Strayer said as he rolled out a rather large map that was covered in a various amount of marked locations, with pinpointed coordinates and scribbled, and clearly rushed notes around them. Or an accurate depiction of when someone tried to describe what their brain was thinking. 

" General's had a lot of time to think about the invasion, when, where, what time, stuff like that. The man's thinking Normandy will be the spot." Nixon explained.

" Normandy, France." Strayer clarified. Catherine thought on that. There were multiple little towns around that area, but the beach was huge, like a monster. She had done specific studies on the geography on different countries, and France had been one of them, especially the coasts. The main reason the coasts were also studied intensely was because of influx of supplies, shipping docks, the average amount of people in and out of the country in a day and so on, general economic based things. It was what contributed to understanding the geography of the land as well as the heavily mobbed ports where people usually left from. 

" Gotta get across the channel, then move inland, who knows what the Krauts might have set up." she said letting out a sigh.

" Don't let that bother ya." Nixon said, " The General's got something up his sleeve, something he's not letting on about. Strayer tried getting word down from Regiment on it, but they won't budge up there." Catherine shrugged, as Strayer looked up from his notes.

" Tried, Nixon, remember that. Still have no comment until further notice." Strayer said and Catherine sighed.

" There's been some talk however, about dropping in behind the lines, then having multiple bombers head in afterwards, then the land forces to hopefully clear the mess up, but I have my doubts." Nixon stated, " 3 waves."

" With those beaches?" she asked, " Normandy has some beaches, but they're not exactly California." Catherine sighed and glanced at the map again.

" You want me to keep studying the land?" Catherine asked Nixon.

" Yeah, that too. But also," Nixon said, scratching his head, " we're nearing the time of this invasion and we're thinking you could run a general briefing on understanding the geography of roaming the land, things like that. It'll help the men and women." Catherine leaned back to grab a sheet of paper and a pen, writing a few things down.

" A time for that?" she asked. Between the amount of reports she had written based on the geography of the land, and presentations, this was a piece of cake.

" Maybe 2 weeks 1100, it'll give you time to prep." Nixon clarified. She nodded, writing the time down.

" I don't mean to ask sir, but has Winters' gotten any word?" Catherine said quietly, eyes focused on the tiny pad of paper in front of her.

" The guy's been stuck up in mess for the past few days, doubt he's got anything." Nixon stated. Catherine sighed to herself, before scratching her head. 

" Then let's get to work," Catherine said with nothing better to do. 

Hazel still sat with a few of the NCOs around the table as she quietly sipped her coffee. Tab's arm remained around her shoulders as she sat there, drying off the best she could with the towel. Chuck sat across from her, feet kicked up, smoking a cigarette and looking towards the ceiling while Johnny took to staring out at the pouring rain deep in thought. Bull and Bill were sorting through smokes. It was relatively quiet. 

" I'm gonna head back to the Burnett's." Hazel said as she looked to Tab.

" You sure?" Tab asked quickly as she nodded.

" I need to shower, I'm cold." she said, and wiped her eyes from rain water.

" Want me to walk you there?" he asked her softly.

" No stay here, in case Catherine comes back with news." Hazel said softly with a smile. Tab nodded and squeezed her shoulder.

" Bye guys." she called lightly to the group of NCOs.

" See ya, kid." Bill called.

" Warm up, Hazel." Chuck called to her.

" Will do." Hazel said.

" Stay warm for us, kid." Bull called.

" Bye Tiny." Johnny called with a small wave. Hazel stepped back into the downpour before heading towards the Burnetts. When she got in she headed right upstairs and started a warm shower, her mind running a mile a minute. 

The news of the NCOs turning in papers calling off their leadership in the company because of Sobel settled over Hazel. Hazel knew what it meant, all the NCOs could be lined up and shot, moved from Division or busted to another Regiment. Hazel was happy for what the NCOs had decided to do. They were taking a stand against Sobel who was showing clearly he was not capable of leading the company, and be a figure who could lead in general. Hazel went to bed that night and wrote her mother back. Hazel sat on the bed with the covers over her legs and carefully composed a letter to send back to her mother.

_Mom,_ _  
_

_I_ _'m glad you find my writing still eloquent after all these years. And that you also seem to like descriptions. Currently, I'm in bed, with the lights still on and it is raining harshly outside, but that's just the British weather I guess. Right now, we're currently all on the edge of our seats. Mutiny. Our NCOs have performed mutiny against our CO, who we are not willing to follow into combat and who the NCOs think they shouldn't follow into combat. And I highly respect their decision to do so. The decision the NCOs made could be life-threatening, but I applaud them for doing it especially before our mission that has been talked about so much. Joe Liebgott's also been there. He's one of the best guy friends I have here. He's a lot like you. The girls are all doing fine. Lizzie's been amazing herself; always happy and smiling. Her and Gene are a great duo and always get along so well. They're like peanut butter and jelly when they work side by side. It's like you can't have one without the other, essentially. Lizzie does one thing, Gene does the other, they just work well together and we both know how efficient that is on the field. Catherine's been like a mother out here to me out here and her and Lizzie have both become like sisters to me. I've never been more thankful for both of them to be in my life especially during this time. I got your message at the end about my father. I will accept a letter from him, but I don't promise a response back depending on the time he does send me one, or even what the contents inside enclose. I don't wish to go into further detail about the entire thing, but I will accept it. I hope you have a wonderful evening, day or night, whatever time you read this and that it brings you joy. I hope to send you another before our mission embarks. I wish you well and all the best._

_Love, your daughter, Hazel_

Hazel carefully folded the letter, satisfied that she'd submit it tomorrow to the postal office. She then placed it on the nightstand on her side and slowly turned down the light until it went out. Hazel flopped on her side and cuddled into the pillow and gently shut her eyes to the sound of the rain hitting the roof that was securely attached above her head. 

The next morning, though, every single NCO from Easy Company that wrote those letters was called to Colonel Sinks office, and by that moment pride was the only thing pounding from Catherine's' chest.

" I ought to have you all shot!" Sink said, his hard stare glaring down at the group, not in anger, but more in disappointment, as if he expected better. Catherine's gaze remained unwavering as she stared forward, she was on the end, as the intelligence NCO, but she still remained prideful in the small protest she could make. 

" This is nothing less than an act of mutiny while we prepare for the goddamn invasion of Europe." Sink said firmly looking towards the eyes of Catherine. Catherine stared forward. She could feel the tension radiating like the waves that rocked against the shore, as her heart hammered in her chest. The rest of the men were dead silent, staring forward with equal pride that wanted to seep out, but held it in in front of the Colonel.

" Sergeant Harris." Sink said.

" Sir." Harris answered, with a somewhat regretful voice.

" Turn in your stripes, collect your gear. You are hereby transferred out of my regiment." Sink said, and Catherine bit at her lip, until she felt it bleed. Catherine was somewhat wide eyed, but swallowed her words into herself. 

" Sir." Harris said, saluting the Colonel.

" Get out." Sink said. Harris stepped forward and then turned and promptly walked out. 

" Sergeant Ranney." Sink started again, making Catherine's eyes quickly dart over to Ranney.

" Sir." Ranney answered. 

" You consider yourself lucky. I'm only busting you to private." Sink said.

" All of you NCOs have disgraced the 101st Airborne." Sink said, sitting back with his hands interlaced with each other in his chair, " You can consider yourself lucky that we are on the eve of the largest action in the history of warfare. Which leaves me no choice by to spare your lives." Sink just looked at them, before leaning forward, his guard somewhat dropping.

" Now get out of my office and get out of my sight." Sink said, and the group of remaining NCOs saluted the man quickly and with pride.

" Get." Sink said, looking up at them, but just barely. Their salutes dropped and the two rows of NCOs turned to their lefts before the back row left and the front row followed. As Catherine left, she watched as Sink watched the rows of NCOs leave the room. She caught his eye and he just nodded to her as she walked forward. When the group of NCOs left the main quarters for the officers, they walked in a solemn silence, realizing what they'd just done as they put their caps securely on their heads. 

Catherine walked beside Chuck and Tab, more near the middle of the pack but behind Guarnere she could easily see the face of Winters, helping unload food from a truck outside. Winters stopped, letting the clipboard hang in his hand as the NCOs moved toward him in a group. 

The minute Bill saluted, the rest of the NCOs quickly followed suit with their own salutes to the man. They all respected Winters, each and every one of them. His leadership worked for Easy Company, and he knew each and every man. He treated them as soldiers, and he worked well with them.

Catherine met Winters' eyes and gave him a hopeful smile, which he surely wouldn't understand, but hoped he would somewhat appreciate. The NCOs passed, their salutes dropping, but Catherine felt a weight lift suddenly from her shoulders after doing so. 

She didn't know what it was, or what that feeling meant, but she just knew there was a change from now on. 

A huge shift, a huge change. 


	26. sobel's demise

" Courage; the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently."

_\- Maya Angelou_

✰✰✰

" So, how'd it go?" Lizzie asked Chuck who was helping her with some boxes for the medical personnel that had been delivered. 

" Well, for starters, we weren't lined up and shot." Chuck said with a hint of a laugh. Lizzie smirked at the comment before hefting the box she held up onto a counter. Chuck placed his right next to hers and the two went back to the truck outside.

" What happened? What did he say?" she asked him, brushing a lock of golden hair behind her ear and biting her lip to look up at him. 

" Sink said he needed us for the 'goddamn invasion of Europe'." Chuck said and then he smirked looking over at the girl, and she sent him a tiny smile. " Guess this whole thing must be pretty important."

" Yes, I guess." she said with a sad smile, thinking about the entire thing in her head. Lizzie bit her lip as she grabbed the next box.

" You ever think about the invasion, Chuck? What it's going to be like?" Lizzie asked him as Chuck pulled a box into his arms and the two started walking again.

" Yeah," Chuck said quietly as Lizzie met his eyes. The invasion and the talks of it and the growing tension that was quickly approaching consumed them all, with thoughts swirling in their head and visions and different fairly frightening images of exactly what could happen out there. 

" It's just the thought of it all," Lizzie said with a nod.

" It's why you're having trouble not becoming too attached." Chuck said as he looked at her. Chuck had pinpointed it. Lizzie glanced up at him and nodded, with a sad frown. 

" It's hard being a medic sometimes." Lizzie said. She'd told the women that before, but telling Chuck, one of her NCOs that, was something she didn't just give on easily to people. A medic was not supposed to grow attached to any member of the company in various ways. But Lizzie struggled with that. She hated that she did. Attachment and combat medic never went hand in hand. Lizzie admired Gene, he didn't become emotionally attached like she had.

" Yeah, but, they're some of the best soldiers of the company." Chuck said, affectionately bumping her shoulder. Lizzie shyly grinned with a smile. She had to go with it and believe it. 

Within the following few days, word broke to the entirety of Easy Company. CO Herbert Sobel was not longer the CO of Easy Company, nor was he in Easy Company. He was reassigned to Chilton Foliat to train others. But there was also the news of Catherine being promoted to Lieutenant as well. 

At the mess hall, Lizzie had been the one running into the break the news to the group, and a few people almost choked on all their food or spit out their drinks at the news. A few groups went out to the pub, a few others didn't really celebrate, they just took it as it came with now CO Lieutenant Thomas Meehan coming into play, to take control. 

Thomas Meehan had come from Baker Company, and he integrated himself quickly with the men and women of Easy. He was very humble, smart, and knew how to work with the company, but he was also a powerful figure in the presence of Easy Company. But something that mattered the most to the men of Easy Company about him was that he respected the 3 female members that were part of the company. He had talked to Winters in depth about how he loved that Hazel was a sniper, the only one in the entirety of the Army. He heard about Catherine and her warrior-like spirit and already enjoyed her presence in the company and Lizzie's name and the word joy and smiles and combat medic had also been a part of the conversation, and Meehan had already enjoyed the discussion of a female combat-medic. 

Lieutenant Buck Compton had also been introduced to the company as their time in Aldbourne was finishing up. He got along great with the men, and unlike Sobel, everyone liked him, especially for his outstanding leaderships, but his easy-going and quick-witted humor. Things were starting to look up for the members of Easy Company, especially with the new sets of leaders added to their company. 

Spring turned to summer, and the air became warmer, but the rain became heavier. Hazel's sniping skills visibly improved, her shots accurate and quick, and the silencer made her shots that much deadlier. She had received the final variation of the M1903A4, courtesy of Sink who had delivered it to her during a lecture during a rainy day. She practiced with Sergeant Coleman more, noticing that some of the past flaws of the weapon had been fixed to the best of her ability. But she still managed a Remington variation and was happy about that. She loved that type. 

The last few practice sessions with Sergeant Coleman were eventually her last as they were preparing for the invasion that was very much hush-hush. She had given him a tight hug in thanks before she left, and he promised that after the mission they'd hopefully see each other again. 

She took him up on that promise. 

Catherine's scheduled briefing was two weeks after her promotion as promised, and at 1100 as talked about. Catherine approached the building, with a scribble of notes in her pocket. She stepped inside the building, the open air hanger and quickly moved up the stage.

" Good morning, everyone." Catherine said as she stood up in front of the group. She was lucky she got to stay, especially from the act of mutiny and the fact that promoted officers were usually switched from regiments. She had gotten to stay despite it all because of the approaching invasion. 

" I have been informed that I needed to give you all a basic briefing about the land of Europe which is highly different than the land of America." Catherine explained as she turned to the map of central Europe that was behind her head.

" In college, I studied physical geography of the continents of the world, and how they impact people when they come in and create civilizations presently and through history, so that is why I've been assigned to this task." Catherine explained with a small smile and a nod looking out to the group. 

" For a bit of background regarding Europe, is is the second-smallest continent out of the 7 continents of the world. Europe runs from the island Iceland to the Ural Mountains in Russia, the Svalbard archipelago in Norway and into the islands of Greece and Malta. Europe is regarded as a peninsula of the Euroasian supercontinent. It's main peninsulas are the Iberian, Italian and Balkan in southern Europe and the Scandinavian and Jutland in the North. This creates 4 major physical geographical regions of the European land, with the Western Uplands, North European Plain, Central Uplands and the Alpine Mountains." Catherine explained, looking out to the group as she pocketed the note cards she had brought with herself.

" Those 4 major physical parts of the landscape are things that you have to internal depending on whenever we will make our jump." Catherine explained, pointing to where the western edge of Europe, " This is considered the Scandinavia region of the Western Uplands, with areas such as France, Ireland, and Holland. Something very popular among the coasts of this Scandinavian landscape is the hard, 'ancient' if you choose to call it that, rock that was shaped by the movement of glaciers many years ago. This action caused the jagged edges of the coasts of these countries." 

" The North European plain," Catherine stated, pointing to an area just below the Western Uplands," extends from south of Britain to the Soviet Union, and includes other such parts of France, Belgium, Poland and into the Soviet Union. The North European Plain houses a multitude of rivers, such as the Rhine, the Weser, the Elbe, the Oder and the Vistula, but it also remains the most heavily populated region of Europe in current times."

" The Central Uplands," Catherine said, facing the group with her hands set behind her back, " they extend along central Europe and the Western parts of France and Belgium, through Southern Germany, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Austria and a bit of Poland. They are lower in altitude, and the less rugged region of the Alpine region with heavy woods. Important areas of this region are the Massif Central and the Vosges in France, the Ardennes of Belgium, the Black Forest and the Taunus in Germany, and the Ore and Sudeten in Czechoslovakia, and are not heavily populated, except in areas where the Rhine, the Elbe and the Danube river valleys are located."

" The last major area of Europe to focus on is the Alpine Mountains, or as you've all heard it, the Alps." Catherine explained, pointing up towards where southern Germany, Northern Austria and Northern Italy all were located, " The mountain ranges included within this region, including the Alps are the Pyrenees, Apennines, Dinaric Alps, Balkans and Carpathians. Most of these mountain ranges of descent of names from Ancient Rome. This region remains the area with some of the most rugged plateaus with high elevations and steep slopping lands. There are a few active volcanoes like Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius which are in Italy."

" All 4 of these locations are within Europe, but are all vastly different from each other because of the natural geography that comes from the land being formed. Depending on where we will ultimately make the jump, these will be considerations, of how to use that land to your advantage. As a paratrooper the land will always be your friend, whether you can build a foxhole within it, or use it to break your fall from death with your chute." Catherine explained. 

" Ma'am?" someone called and Catherine turned to the source, and nodded to them.

" Go on, Private." she said, noticing the single strip.

" Ma'am um, how are we supposed to really get to know the land if we aren't on it now?" he asked her. Catherine offered a smile his way.

" Well, Private, that's the thing about war. You virtually don't know anything; where you'll drop, what the land will be like, what obstacles you'll face. You won't know anything, you won't even know your initial first reaction when dropping in on the land, none of us will," Catherine said as the Private looked at her, " but, what you can remember is the land will always be your friend and you will always be able to use that to your advantage in any way you can. A paratrooper's best friend is the land." And the Private was quiet after that, everyone was. Catherine slowly pushed up to her feet again and walked back to the center of the stage.

" The land will not be your worry at first, of course it would be making sure you still have your weapon and equipment needed, and then that you can get to your assembly point, and then the land will become your next thought." Catherine explained, " But it is something to always have in the back of your mind."

" Yes, ma'am." the group chorused. Catherine nodded.

" You're all dismissed," Catherine said with a nod, as the group slowly began to shuffle out. Nixon came up to her, smoking a cigarette, with a smirk on his face.

" Sure silenced them." Nixon said, and Catherine smirked, " I figured it's better to tell the truth than lie." 

" Oh I know you're right, McCown, impressed all of them." Nixon said nodding to some of the higher ups. Catherine smiled.

" I try." Catherine answered and Nixon smirked. 

A few days before their move to Uppottery, England, Hazel was sitting out in the fresh grass, the sun shining down brightly on her, as the breeze ruffled her hair. She had some time to finally think, just to really think about everything from her start at Athene, to her time now. She had been so much more quiet, and reserved, but she'd let the men and women take her in with open arms. She was still quiet, but she was more willing to open up to others, emotionally and spiritually. Hazel felt she was truly one with her emotions as well. When she looked up at the bright, blue sky and felt the way the sun hit her eyes and the raybands that covered them, as well as the way the breeze that called through the air and through her hair, truly made her happy and content with herself. 

A year ago, she wouldn't have said the same at all. If she hadn't gone through this training that was physically and mentally challenging, she might've not felt the way she did right now. She was happy, in so many ways. She wasn't sure really what the future had in store for her, but she was happy, something she hadn't felt in such a long time it seemed. 

It was sad, however, leaving the Burnett's who had been like parents to the two soldiers over the past 9 months. Hazel slowly stepped out of the room she had been in for over 9 months, and sighed as she shut the door behind her. As Hazel slowly went down the steps, looking at photographs and pictures, she hoped she'd make it back here and be able to see that room again. Hazel slowly stepped into the quiet foyer where both Harry and Grace stood looking at Hazel like they were proud parents.

" Oh, just come here." Grace said as she hurried forward, wrapping Hazel in a tight hug, holding her close. Hazel wrapped her arms around Grace, squeezing her eyes shut, as she forced herself not to cry. She didn't realize the toll that would be taken upon her when she had to finally leave the Burnett's who had been almost like a set of parents to her. 

" Thank you for everything," Hazel said as she leaned back and wiped her eye a bit, before hugging Harry.

" Oh, honey, it was our pleasure. You were like a daughter to us." Harry said as the two pulled back and Hazel looked up at him with a smile.

" Now, you go and show those men and the world who you are and what you fight for." Grace said as Hazel smiled with a nod. 

" I will see you again." Hazel said with a nod, as she grabbed the door handle and turned it slightly.

" We know you will." Grace said and Hazel grinned.


	27. upottery airfield

" It's okay to be scared. Being scared means you're about to do something really, really brave."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

The men and women of the 101st loaded into their respective trucks to head off towards Upottery. They would be staying in the airfield until the time of the invasion finally did arrive, however long that would be. 

Hazel slowly seated herself beside Liebgott, sweating in the heavy amount of gear she was lugging around. Summer in England was warm and humid and absolutely muggy outside whenever you headed out.

" They expect me to fight Germans wearing all this?" Hazel said as she glanced at Joe who was smirking beside her.

" Seems like it." he said, as she smiled softly, brushing some hair from face that was hanging down in her lose helmet.

" You said you cut hair, didn't ya, Joe?" Hazel asked him as Joe pulled a strap tighter and nodded.

" Yeah, yeah I do. Little side business when I drove cabs. I liked the extra cash." Joe said. 

" Can you do women's?" Hazel asked softly with a shy smile his way. Joe glanced at her with a smirk.

" I got 4 sisters, 'course I can, Tiny." Joe said, the corners of his eyes crinkling with a soft smile to Hazel. She smiled, her two dimples appearing. 

" Hey, mind cutting my hair too there Joe?" Malarkey said slamming in across from him with a smirk.

" Sure, princess." Joe muttered, giving a glare his way as Hazel laughed. Malarkey snickered. The truck drive was just odd, because there was a riled up anticipation of what was to come, but there was no time of when that was supposed to happen or occur and there was a pit deep in Hazel's stomach as she slowly started making the realizations she knew she would have to face as a soldier, a paratrooper in war now. Everyone was tense and overwhelmed. 

Hazel glanced around the tiny truck filled with men of the company and sighed to herself. It felt like there was a rock lodged in her throat. She peaked out of the back of the truck to look towards the dreary, grey skies that lied over Upottery. They knew as paratroopers, and for the women as Viragos what this would mean, concerning the course of war. What a rather surprising invasion of Europe would eventually mean.

" 2nd platoon, listen up! I want the 1st squad and a-side tents right up there!" Compton called to the whole of 2nd platoon. 

" 3rd squad, second row." Compton called again. It was a strange feeling, being in the presence of one of the biggest military invasions that was about to made in the whole of military history itself. There was a seriousness when the men went about their business heading to their respective tents with their equipment and weapons. You could hear the planes and their whirring engines as they moved around the airfield as well as hear every man walk through the mud that they trekked around the airfield. There were loud voices and some shouts of orders as well as chatting amongst the enlisted. Engines on vehicles revved around the base, and rattling noises echoed in the air. 

Hazel followed the rest of 2nd to their tent they would all be in. Lizzie would be with 1st platoon while Catherine would remain the officers. Hazel walked beside Bill through the muggy atmosphere and the muddy ground, her eyes weary and exhausted the long ride on the trucks over. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of the jump they were supposed to experience in the future, and the future was scary.

" Home sweet home." she heard Liebgott call from in front of them as they approached the tent. Hazel quirked a tiny smile, as they came upon the tent. Hazel watched Joe step inside and then she followed in beside Bill to get inside the tent and sighed to herself looking around.

" I'd start making yourselves at home, don't know how long we'll be here." Bill said, as Hazel moved over towards a bed. Hazel slowly removed her helmet from her head with a sigh, before placing it beside her bags on the cot. She was exhausted and weary, but she'd been nervous coming to the airfield. In all her time of training, she had yet to feel nervous about really going to war, really being a part of it all, but now she was nervous and it had kept her up all night just thinking about it. She hated that. Hazel slowly turned to sit down and lie back against the bed, shutting her eyes for a moment in her gear, staring at the darkness of her lids.

" Someone's tired." a voice said and Hazel cracked open her eyes to see a blurry Floyd Talbert above her.

" I'm fine." Hazel said sitting up, blinking her eyes awake, forcing herself to not fall asleep. Tab looked at her with a raised brow.

" You sure, you didn't talk much the ride over." Tab said. Hazel glanced towards him and bit her lip, she nodded again though. Tab slowly sat down beside her and glanced towards her.

" What's going on, Tiny?" Tab asked her.

" I'm just nervous." Hazel answered honestly, " About it all." 

" Well," Tab said, wrapping an arm over her shoulder and gently rubbing it, " I know of a pretty badass sniper." Hazel let out a tiny giggle.

" You know that's you right?" Tab said with a chuckle. Hazel giggled.

" Yeah, I know." Hazel said with a tiny smile.

" We're going to mess soon," Tab said and she nodded. 

" Thanks for that, Tab." Hazel said with a small smile and a nod. Tab smiled.

" 'Course." Tab said, and he smiled gently at her. He had a nice smile. Tab slowly made his way back over to his bed as Hazel glanced at her equipment. Hazel slowly picked up her weapon and pulled it into her lap and began looking at it once again. She bit her lip. Hazel gently ran a hand over her face, in a stressed and worried way, before setting her chin in the palm of her hand and sitting there for a few moments, letting it sink in a bit. 

Dinner that night in the mess was quieter than it had been in the past. 

So that night, Hazel sat outside the tents, staring at the stars. Inside, they were all playing card games and talking and just hanging out. Hazel preferred to head out to the stars and become encased in their safety. Hazel stared up at the dark sky, filled with the tiny dots called stars. Hazel looked at the bracelet on her wrist and gently touched it, thinking of Harry and Grace, back in Aldbourne. They were the closest things to parents that Hazel could get over here, and Hazel had a horrible gut wrenching feeling in the pit of her stomach that she'd never see them again. The bracelet on her wrist meant so much, especially since Grace had intended it for her first born daughter, but she wasn't able to have kids, and that had hurt Hazel inside. But Hazel resumed that duty where she could be that daughter figure. 

Hazel then gently touched the Star of David which was around her neck, and took it from her collar, staring at the tiny symbol. Hazel never cried usually, and she most definitely hated crying in front of people. She felt that it was weak and that it was too vulnerable. So she always made sure she was alone in every sense. Because when she cried, whenever she tried to tell people her emotions, she couldn't even begin to start without completely breaking down into shambles. She only ever cried twice in front of people and that was with Lizzie and Catherine and then another time with Catherine, but she let no one else see her cry. 

Hazel shut her eyes, as a tear crawled down her cheek, and her heart raced. She felt so ungodly anxious and so filled with unwanted fear, as her mind filled with irrational thoughts, even as she knew she was okay. Hazel gently let the Star of David drop from her hands as she put the palms of her hands to her eyes and forced herself to not cry; to not overthink even the stupidest things, she only felt worse when she did. 

So she continued to suffer alone that night, as the stars looked down on her, watching the quiet, innocent sniper softly let out her emotions for only the stars to see. 

When Hazel woke up the next morning, she was staring at the ceiling of the tent she was roomed in with the men. There was a gentle breeze that blew in from some of the open windows, and many of the men were still asleep, their exhausted snores ringing around the room. 

Beside her in the cot to her left, Joe Liebgott, was sleeping peacefully, his hair falling over his eyes, as he slept with his arms over his chest, snoring softly. Hazel felt the corner of her mouth rise up in a smirking fashion. 

Oh how she wanted to get him back for all the little pranks that he pulled on her or the bits of annoyance, and jump on top of him and scare him awake. But then that would wake the others, and she didn't want that. 

On her other side was Chuck Grant, snoring, rather loudly, on his stomach, head shoved under his pillow. Hazel had come inside last night and gone straight to bed, to escape the demons that seemed to play a game of catch in her mind. 

Hazel slowly sat up and swung her feet over the left side of her bed and sighed, putting her head in her hands. She looked down and pulled her boots on and then stood, grabbing her OD coat and pulling it over her PT gear. 

Hazel walked out of the tent into the bright, morning sunshine of June 1st. Hazel looked around with squinted eyes and sighed. It was finally June, which could mean a whole new slew of opportunities for perfect jumping weather. She got coffee that morning and sat outside on a bench watching the bright early morning sky. As she looked to the sky, a shadow slowly crossed in front of her. She opened her half shut eyes and looked up and over to see it was Buck Compton; their newly assigned Lieutenant.

" Hi, sir." Hazel said as she sat up, moving over to give him space to sit down beside her. 

" Morning," he said and glanced towards the sky where Hazel was currently looking towards with squinted, sleepy eyes, " mind if I take a seat?"

" Of course," Hazel said and she smiled softly, watching as Buck sat beside her and looked out towards the airfield with the early morning light of June to greet them. Hazel watched him curiously. She liked Buck Compton, everyone liked him, especially that of guys like George Luz, Joe Toye, Bull and Johnny and Bill. Buck also seemed like a trustworthy leader with a good head on his shoulders. Nothing he had done had made Hazel think otherwise. They had never really talked though, but then again Hazel wasn't labeled ideally as the talker in many circumstances. 

" What'd you do before the war, Parker?" Buck asked her as he brought up the cup of coffee to his lips and took a sip before glancing at Hazel.

" I worked in groceries stores, when I was finishing up my schooling. Then I graduated early to join the WAC and then the Viragos." Hazel said to him and she noticed a smile on Buck's face.

" Ah yes," Buck said, " I was excited to hear I'd be joining a company with Viragos in it." Hazel smiled.

" Really?" she asked him.

" Oh yeah," Buck said with a nod looking at her, " Viragos were the talk of ROTC. We even had one who helped train us. She was tough that one. She got me to where I am today. her training was ruthless."

" What was her name?" Hazel asked him. 

" Captain Molly Copeland." Buck said, sipping his drink, " She knew how to disarm a guy in seconds." Hazel let out a soft laugh.

" I can believe it, she was one of the best self-defense fights in the Viragos. Clearly she still is." Hazel said and Buck laughed, a hearty laugh. 

" What about you, sir?" Hazel asked him. Buck let out a smile.

" I lived in Los Angeles and went to UCLA for baseball, played in the Rose Bowl in the beginning of 1943, then went to ROTC." Buck explained. 

" You went to college?" Hazel asked him and Buck nodded with a smile.

" Some of the best years of my life." 

" What was it like, sir?" Hazel asked him curiously as she sipped her coffee and let it burn her throat a bit. 

" Well, since I went for baseball there's all the excitement surrounding that." Buck said as Hazel giggled as she knew where he was going with it.

" You got the ladies I'm assuming is what you're saying." Hazel said and Buck let out a laugh.

" If that's what you want to call it, Parker, then we'll call it that." Buck said and Hazel grinned at him, " What about you?"

" No, I had to help make sure we had money for the house and all and plus I graduated a few days before I left for the WAC." Hazel explained, " But I'm hoping I can possibly go when this war is over." Buck smiled at her. 

" What are you thinking of going for?"

" Math." Hazel said and Buck nodded to her, " Mostly because I think it can get me closer to the stars." 

" That's quite the ambition, Parker." Buck said and Hazel nodded with a smile.

" It is, isn't it?" she said and Buck grinned at her.

" Sometimes the biggest ambitions come from the tiniest seed, Parker." Buck said and Hazel smiled at him. She didn't know what is was, but having a conversation that wasn't in anyway war oriented had calmed her down and settled her anxious nerves that seemed to want to go into overdrive. 

After talking with Buck, she knew why everyone liked him as much as they did; he was easy to talk to, a relatable and funny guy and someone who seemed could talk about anything and make it interesting. 

Hazel stepped into the tent that morning and found most of the guys were still lazily passed out and asleep. Chuck's snoring was loud, but mixed with the rest of the guys it was even louder and elevated. Hazel just smirked and headed back towards her bed and sat down on the edge, removing her boots again and OD coat as it was growing warm again. She then sat on her bed again and slowly braided up her thin, wavy curls into 2 braids just until Joe would be able to give it a good cut. Hazel slowly looped each strand of hair, just as her mother had taught her to, bringing each piece, one over the next, until she reached the end and was able to tie it off. Then she did the same to the other side, as silent snores continued to fill the room. It was oddly peaceful. 

She glanced towards Liebgott again thinking of her innocent little plan from this morning. She grinned to herself, before slowly bringing her socked feet over the edge to touch the ground. She slowly stood, with her outstretched hands in front of her, tip-toeing towards the sleeping man in his bed. She wanted to get him back after almost a year of the playful teasing she endured from him. And plus, they were friends, she had every right to wake him from a peaceful sleep. Hazel watched Joe shift a bit in his bed and then resume snoring again. Hazel smirked to herself. 

Then she acted. 

She jumped lightly onto him, right next to his ear, and had to let out a laugh before saying a quick boo in his ear. 

Joe shot awake underneath her, and it seemed his first instinct was to latch onto her, shoving her to his side, down into the bed, his eyes wide, breathing heavy. But all he saw was Hazel, beside him, small giggles leaving her lips as she squeezed her eyes shut, laughing. Joe tried to be mad at the girl for waking him up, but he felt he couldn't be mad at her. She was too innocent to be remotely upset for waking him up.

" Well, good morning to you, too." Joe muttered out as Hazel managed to let out one final laugh, before looking at him. 

" That's for those months of teasing me." Hazel said as she giggled again. Joe couldn't keep the smirk that crawled onto his face off, as Hazel laughed.

" You're gonna get it, Parker." Joe said as Hazel just laughed, turning to roll off the bed to her socked feet again, a smile on her face. 

" Sure," Hazel said, as she turned to him, with innocent eyes, and then frowned, " but why would you do that to me?" Joe bit his lip.

" Those puppy dog eyes don't work on me anymore, Parker." Joe said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, " Only when you were sick and that was it." Hazel giggled. 

" Can you two shut up?" a voice groaned and the two looked towards Chuck who's body hadn't moved as the voice crept out from around the pillow. 

" Yeah Hazel." Joe said childishly as Hazel scoffed.

" You shut up." Hazel said, swinging her foot out towards his bed like a kid. " No you." Joe argued.

" How about you both shut your yaps!" Bill yelled as he lied on his side across the barrack, his voice annoyed. Hazel couldn't help but look away and let a giggle past her lips childishly as Joe smirked at her. 

They were just kids.


	28. talks of d-day

" Growing up is about teaching yourself, not blaming yourself."

_\- poets_

✰✰✰

Hazel and Joe together were a pair of childish kids basically. 

The guys had to admit, it was nice seeing the hot-headed Joe Liebgott smile a bit more, laugh a bit more, fight a bit less with the young bundle of innocence around. She was a good balance for him, and a great friend as well. The two played footsie where ever they walked, or kicked stones as they moved from tent to tent, or Joe would flick her head and she'd punch his bicep and then they'd start shoving each other. Bill had to physically pull them apart before they burst into fits of laughs. It let Hazel's mind breath for a bit, without a worry of thinking about the war, just being able to be with her friends. 

But in the afternoon, the mood simmered to a quiet, tense halt as they entered the huge hangar where the mass of Easy Company would be receiving instructions for their 'quickly-approaching' operation.

" Saint Marie Du Mont." Meehan said as he walked along the strip of platform laid before the group of Easy Company paratroopers, his loud voice, echoing within the hanger, louder than the rainstorm that thundered outside against the ground and roof.  
  


" Causeway number 1, Causeway number 2. The ultimate field problem. The Estuary of the Douve River divides two beachheads-code-named Utah, here," Meehan pointed to a higher up portion of the map, " and Omaha, here." he stated pointing to the lower section.

" Seaborne infantry will hit these beaches in force at a date and time to be specified." Meehan stated. Hazel softly nibbled on her lip as she usually did. It distracted her, let her get her mind off things. Her soft, doe eyes concentrated on the map behind Meehan, sitting on the edge of the bench, with her hair let down in gentle curls. She had a headache after lunch and figured it was from the ponytail. Joe was beside her smoking, his cap a little crooked, a cigarette on his ear. Hazel was a little anxious, but it seemed everyone else was as they smoked chimneys around her. 

" H-hour, D-Day." Meehan stated.

" Airborne's objective, ladies and gentlemen," Meehan said and turned to the latter who nodded with a smirk, " is to take the town of Carentan, thus linking Utah and Omaha into a single continuous beachhead. Each trooper will learn this operation by heart and know his or her and every other outfits' mission to the detail."

" Lieutenant Meehan." a voice called and Dukeman stood with a raised hand.

" Yes, Dukeman." Meehan said stepping up to the large board of the map of the operation. 

" Sir, are we dropping tonight?" Dukeman asked and Hazel watched Catherine glanced at Dukeman with a grumble from her spot up on the stage beside Nixon. They had nothing prepared yet, why would they drop tonight?

" When it's time for you to know, we'll let you know." Meehan said back firmly. 

" In the meantime, study these sand tables, maps and reconnaissance photos until you can draw a map of the area by memory. Now we will drop behind this Atlantic wall five hours before the 4th infantry lands at Utah. And between our assembly area and the Battalion's objective, there is a German garrison right here in this area- Saint Marie Du Mont. Easy Company will destroy that garrison." Lizzie glanced to Gene who was next to her and he looked over at her with a hardened facial expression, carefully analyzing the situation. She swallowed thickly and glanced back at the map.

" You're all dismissed." he called over the group. People shuffled around them to stand, getting to their feet, mumbling to each other and moving themselves towards the sand tables. If Hazel's brain cells could have personalities, they would all be having mini panic attacks, and possibly be cursing Hazel out.

" Hey," Joe said, placing a hand on her shoulder, " you ok?" Hazel forced a small smile.

" Yeah," Hazel said, " yeah." Joe raised a brow.

" I'm fine, come on, I wanna see what these sand tables look like." Hazel said. Joe gave her another slightly concerned look before giving in and following her. As Hazel approached the sand table, which was surrounded by a mass of Easy Company men, she noticed Catherine nearby at the larger map, looking up at the 5 beachheads. Hazel smiled softly, stepping past Joe and stepping past the men, struggling a bit to pull herself up onto the stage and clambering in beside Catherine. 

" Hey, Mack." Hazel said and Catherine glanced her way with a grin.

" How're you doing? With all this?" Catherine asked her, looking back up at the map of the mission. 

" It's a little stressful, I'm not afraid to admit that." Hazel said with a shrug of her shoulders, and an innocent smile, " But I feel we're ready." Catherine smiled. Hazel grinned.

" You look like you want to explain it to someone," Hazel said, sitting down criss-cross applesauce like a child and staring up at the big map with curious eyes, " I'll visit the sand tables later." Catherine smiled at her, the corners of her eyes crinkling. 

" You sure?" Catherine asked Hazel.

" You're my friend, of course." Hazel said. 

So, Catherine began explaining things, going over little things, and Hazel felt better knowing Catherine, a Lieutenant, and someone who worked in college with this sort of stuff was explaining the mission specifically to her. 

Catherine talked about the 3 main phases, the paratroopers made up of the 101st and 82nd for America and the 6th for the British, the bombings of B-26s from America would follow, and then the seaborne objective would ultimately follow with land troops and infantryman making the final mark in the operation and landing on the 5 beachheads divided between America, Britain and Canada. America would have Utah and Omaha, while Great Britain would had Gold and Sword, and the Canadians would have Juno. 

If each stage went through successfully and was completed to where it needed to be, then the next stage could be set for completion, changing the war. The allies were currently in a struggle for Rome, and the battle sounded bloody and ruthless. 

But it wasn't just the allies fighting the Germans in the occupied Italy; they were Italian partisans who were heroic in each and every way fighting against the Nazis, with their own magnificent minds and intelligent tactics that outwitted the Nazis to the highest degree, fighting for what was right. 

Hazel admired them. 

Catherine knew so much and Hazel was amazed at the amount of information stored in her brain. Eventually Lizzie wandered over and slid in beside Hazel and began listening to Catherine discuss the invasion in detail and enthusiasm. The two women sat side by side watching Catherine discuss the plans for the invasion intently. 

When Catherine finished, she led Hazel and Lizzie to a sand table where not a lot of people were and began explaining different things to them, expressing her knowledge of land and geographical features to the two women with ease and confidence. 

So, Hazel eventually found herself, sat in a corner, drawing out routes and different landmarks and different paths of roads of Normandy near Carentan, until her fingers grew number from doing so. She glanced up every so often, as any normal person would, and would give a glance around the room towards where other members of Easy had gone off to do the same. 

Hazel was glad that night when she could finally lie down on the bed she had been assigned, for her head felt like someone was trying to break it with a brick. All the men were playing cards again and trading off smokes and talking, but Hazel's mind hurt too much for that. So she trekked to the mess hall, where there was usually a bit of extra food lying around. 

Hazel walked through the warm night of June 1st, her anticipation of June 2nd, running high as well, as she made way for the mess hall. Hazel stepped inside and found that they were just beginning to clean up everything, with a few stragglers still standing around. Hazel sighed to herself and approached the area where you could get food and just asked for any leftovers they had, just a small bit.

" Hazel?" a voice asked as she sat down in a bench that hadn't been cleaned off yet. She didn't want the men cleaning to have to go back over a cleaned spot again. Hazel looked up and saw Lieutenant Winters there. 

" Hi, sir." Hazel said, offering a small smile. Winters glanced towards the kitchen before taking a seat across from her and looking at her.

" What are you doing in here? Did you just get dinner?" Winters asked her, sounding genuinely concerned. Hazel smiled softly. 

" No, I had dinner, but my head ached so I figured I'd come back here and just get some food and water in me, sir." Hazel said with a nod and a smile. Winters nodded, a tiny smile on his lips.

" Those sand tables and maps are putting you through it I'm guessing." Winters said to her and she nodded, tiredly. 

" It's exhausting." she said, " But I'm determined to know it down to the last detail." Winters smiled at her, he could see that determination across her entire face.

" I saw Catherine talking to you and Lizzie about it today. I can tell it's things she likes to talk about." Winters said and Hazel smiled with a nod, as she stabbed her fork into a piece of chicken.

" She's always loved geography, she went to college for it, sir, and she's really good at it. You should've seen her back at Camp Athene, she was always the best squad leader, she just knew the land and how to approach it in all senses." Hazel said, before putting the chicken in her mouth and savoring the taste.

" So I've heard," Winters said and Hazel smiled, " I'm just glad she's on our side. I know how much all of this means to her." 

" She also majored in psychology, with the human mind, so I can't imagine how much she knows about that, if geography was just her major, sir." Hazel said, " She's really smart." Winters smiled at her.

" How you, you doing ok?" Winters asked her. He knew Catherine was at her highest peak at the moment, giving all the help she can, staying up late, hell she barely slept last night, going over maps at the desk in the officers tent. She saw Nixon force her to get rest at about 2 am, because the light was bothering him. 

" Doing ok, sir." Hazel said nodding, " I just feel ready to finally, do it, I guess." Winters nodded. That was many of the mens' similar mindsets. They just wanted to get that jump done and over with, because then the could move on and focus on the war they had to be throng into.

" How's Lizzie?" Winters asked Hazel.

" She's doing well, her and Gene have been working really hard, making sure they know all possible outcomes of injury on the battlefield, things like that. But they're so closely bonded and they're such a strong pair that works together, I have no doubt that they'll succeed." Hazel said and Winters smiled. 

He knew that the 3 women of Virago, even when separate a lot more now than they usually were, since Catherine stayed with Battalion, Lizzie was in the aid station and Hazel was with 2nd platoon, they still remained connected, even when not speaking to each other or seeing each other as much as they used to. 

He thought it was beautiful.

" Right, well, I have to go make sure the boys are cleaning up well. You'll be ok here?" Winters asked her.

" Yep, I'm almost done anyway, sir." Hazel confirmed with a nod. Winters looked at the young woman for a moment. She was young, but strong, and humble. He admired her. Coming out to fight a war, under the cover of a secret operation, willing to die for a country that didn't even know about the operation yet, but still showing up. She was brave. 

Many people had trouble sleeping that night simply because they were going over the map that was sitting in their heads, while figuring out the objectives of the men next to them. June 2nd was a pleasant morning without a cloud in the sky. The company went through even more preparation regarding the operation, going to each man and woman, making him or her go over the operation they were to know by now. Lizzie's mind was boggled with information, yet she managed to recite it perfectly to Meehan when he finally did come around and ask for the mission. Lizzie let out a quiet breath of air in relief watching as Hazel recited the same beside her, with ease and humbleness, making Meehan nod and move on. Hazel glanced up at Lizzie beside her and nodded.

" I didn't think my mind was capable of reciting such things." Lizzie said as the two women walked away from the hangar for lunch that afternoon. Hazel grinned.

" You're a medic, Lizzie, I'm pretty sure even if you didn't have the time you had, you still would've been able to memorize it efficiently." Hazel said and Lizzie smiled.

" It's just, you ever think about it all? What this entire invasion could mean?" Lizzie asked Hazel.

" All the time." Hazel said, " You know with the second-guessing and the doubts and the fear. All the time." Lizzie offered a small smile Hazel's way.

" You're not the only one." Lizzie said and Hazel noticed the worry in her eyes. Hazel knew medics were the most important soldiers out on that field; they saved your life if you went down. They were the barrier between life and death when you got hit. 

" How are you and Gene doing?" Hazel asked with a soft smile.

" Gene's fine, he's actually be the one who's really kept me grounded, ya know?" Lizzie said with a tiny smile, " I've been stressed thinking about it all. It's nice to have a friend like him who's just there for reassurance." 

" I know what you mean." Hazel said and Lizzie grinned.

" How is Mr. Joe Liebgott?" Lizzie asked her. Hazel grinned up at Lizzie.

" Fine, but I got him back for all the times he teased me last year and jumped on him, waking him up out of a dead sleep, don't know if he's happy about that or not." Hazel said and Lizzie let out a laugh.

" Serves him right." Lizzie said as Hazel giggled, squeezing her eyes shut. When the two girls entered the mess hall, they got their food and picked their way over towards where Malarkey and Skip were sitting, talking about God-Knows-What. 

" Hey," Lizzie said as she sat down and Hazel followed with a tiny smile.

" Hey you two," Skip said, sipping his water, " looking rather adorable today." Hazel and Lizzie both grinned. 

Skip was just like that. 

In a way, he had grown to making sure the women were always feeling ok, that they weren't having worries and if so, he always managed the dorkiest compliments because he always felt a woman deserved a little comment each day about how important they were or how beautiful they were, especially the 3 Viragos they had. Skip knew each woman had their own worries about battle, so a little comment always seemed to make their days.

" We try." Lizzie said as she sipped her own water and Skip grinned. Hazel just blushed. She knew Skip by now, she never grew used to the compliments though, even if she appreciated each and everyone. 

" Hey, you two hear? One of these next days, we're supposed to be getting some big, feast of food." Malarkey said leaning forward as both girls looked at him with wide eyes.

" You just had to use the word feast?" Skip said as Malarkey shoved his shoulder. 

" Anyways, I heard stuff like turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, supposedly ice cream. Catherine was the one that managed information from Battalion, mostly from Nixon." Malarkey said.

" It's true, Catherine and I were walking around together and Nixon came running up and told her something quickly. Told me later there was a 'feast' in Don's words, being planned, before the day of the jump." Skip said. Skip and Catherine had become close friends really through Bill and Joe Toye, and they were hilarious together, bouncing off each other's comments. They were a nice duo. 

" I'm excited for the ice cream part." Hazel said innocently and Lizzie swore she saw Don's and Skip's eyes turn soft. But who was she kidding, everyone's eyes in the company went soft whenever Hazel spoke or did anything. She was so innocent.

" I swear you are the cutest lil' thing." Skip said, " Wish this guy could be cuter." 

" I'll show you cuter, Warren." Don threatened Skip as Skip laughed out loud.

" Hey, gingers are cute, don't worry Don." Lizzie said, giving him a reassuring glance, and Don smirked proudly. 

" See, Skip, Lizzie thinks I'm cute." Don said proudly, but Lizzie just smirked and shook her head.

" But that Shelly back in Astoria sure didn't." Skip said, " Poor thing. You were too good for her." Don grumbled. 

" Shelly?" Hazel asked softly.

" This girl from my high school, who I talked to before the war, lost touch a bit." Don said and Lizzie frowned a bit at Don. 

" Hey, she's missing out ok, Don, you're a good person. Don't forget that." Lizzie reassured and Don nodded smiling at her. She was going to make a great medic.

" So, you got a thing for red-heads." Skip started in on Lizzie, who glanced at him, with her fork half-raised to her lips, " I'm guessing you're a huge Lieutenant Richard Winters fan." Lizzie snickered. 

" 'Course, I am, who isn't?" Lizzie said, as her cheeks blushed a bit. It was no secret that Lieutenant Richard Winters was the gentleman he was, he'd always been kind to the 3 Viragos and he'd been intelligent in the practice field, there was no shying away from possibly even the smallest crush each girl had on the Lieutenant, but they figured many people felt that looking at the Ginger-Haired Lieutenant. 

" He is a gentleman." Hazel offered, " Unlike half these guys." Skip snickered.

" She's got us beat." Skip said, " And she's right." 

" Ok, ok wait, I gave you 4 portions of my K-ration out in the field sometimes when we practiced back in Aldbourne, Lizzie. I mean that's a fairly gentleman thing to do." Don said looking at the blonde-haired medic. Lizzie smirked.

" You did do that for me, so thank you." Lizzie said with a chuckle, as she swirled her fork around a bit. They spent the rest of lunch talking and laughing before they had to get back and continuing reviewing maps, a mellowing switch from the funny conversation with Skip and Don. 

June 3rd was the day that even more preparations were made, like signing their GI Life Insurance Policy, insuring that if they died, their family would receive $10,000 for their death. Hazel hated to think that, but she knew it would help her mother if she ended up being taken from this world. 

So that afternoon afterwards, after equipment had been distributed, Hazel asked Joe to finally cut her hair. Over the past few days, she'd begun contemplating where she wanted it cut, how long she wanted to keep it, things like that. But instead, she just went to Joe, hoping that he had a clue of what would be best as a barber himself who had done his sisters' hair 'plenty of times' as he had said. Hazel found Joe reading a comic on his bed, the late afternoon sun streaming in, making a soft golden glow in the tent. She had just finished a shower, so her hair was wet, perfect for cutting hair she knew.

" Hey, Joe," Hazel said as she approached him, " can you do my hair now?" Joe looked up at her with a smile. 

" 'Course." he said, closing the Flash Gordon comic in his hands, and leaning down next to his bags to pull out a tiny case. Hazel looked at him confused as Joe stood and turned to her. He smirked at her expression and zipped open the case.

" Scissors and other such equipment." Joe said with a grin and Hazel nodded with a small smile. 

" C'mon." Joe said as he wrapped an arm over her shoulder, the two heading outside again into the late afternoon gold that the sun tended to give off now that summer was in full swing.

" Where do you usually do your haircuts?" Hazel asked him.

" They got this little tent set up, for guys to cut their hair different things like that. I don't think anyone will be in there now. They got mirrors, water bins, stuff like that." Joe explained and Hazel nodded. They entered the tent and it seemed to be exactly how Joe had described it to her.

" Have a seat." Joe said pointing to the chair that was near the mirror, as he placed his tiny pack of scissors on a table that he brought over to the side of the chair where Hazel sat. The other 2 girls had gotten Joe to cut their hair and Hazel agreed that he'd done a great job with it all. Catherine's hair was shorter now, just a bit past her shoulders and so was Lizzie's, but it looked really good. Joe brushed through her hair, getting any last minute tangles out before pulling out his scissors. 

" How short ya thinking, Tiny?" Joe asked her, leaning against the back of the chair as she stared at herself in the mirror. She bit her lip.

" Maybe just a little past my shoulders?" Hazel asked him with a small smile, looking back at him. Joe smiled at her. 

" Gotcha." he said and began getting to work cutting her hair. Hazel had to admit, Joe was good. He remained concentrated the entire time, with the bit of his tongue poking out of his lip the entire time, moving around the chair as he made cuts. It was quiet in the tent, except for the sound of Joe cutting her hair, but it was peaceful. Hazel needed that to rest her extremely loud that didn't seem to shut up. When Joe finished, he stepped back.

" Take a look." he said. Hazel slowly stood up and out of the chair and approached the mirror, running her fingers through the slowly drying hair, and loving the length of it. 

" Thank you, Joe." Hazel said turning and looking at him with a wide smile. Joe smirked at her with a nod as she turned back to run her hands through her hair again.

" It looks so good." Hazel said, as she brushed through the ends of her hair which were actually healthy. She loved it. Joe smirked at her as he packed up his things. Hazel loved her hair, it looked clean and healthy and not straggly and dead. When the two got inside the tent for 2nd platoon, Malarkey, Skip and Penkala were the first 3 to notice her haircut, with rather extravagant excitement. 

" If I was a girl and needed my haircut, I'd definitely be showing up to you, Joe." Skip said as he touched Hazel's hair, " I never knew you could actually cut hair well."" You never asked, Skip." Joe said.

" It looks good." Malarkey said and Hazel grinned at him.

" Yeah I agree, I'm surprised Joe." Penkala said as Hazel laughed. Joe just smirked.

" Don't expect me to come sauntering in when you need one." Joe said moving back over to his bed, laughing to himself. 

Hazel felt a change already, even if she only had a tiny haircut happen. 


	29. the letter

" Our mere anticipations of life outrun its realities."

_\- Aesop_

✰✰✰

The following morning was bright, with the sun out, barely a cloud or two in the sky. it was June 4th, 1944. The company knew that the time was coming close that they would be jumping soon. Into this unknown territory with a gun and a parachute or in some cases a medic satchel or a sniper. 

Hazel was expecting a letter from her dad now any day by this point. Her mother had informed her that he was sending a letter to her soon, and Hazel herself was not planning on writing back anytime soon. The pain she felt, which overwhelmed her entire being with the stress of that situation she tried to whole-heartedly to forget, was too immense to focus on with a jump occurring soon. But she figured he would send one now in case these were her last days on Earth. 

Whenever mail call happened in the past days, her head would whip around when she heard Vest call the names out, but it was never for her. She was waiting so expectantly by this point just to see her father's handwriting after all these years and hear what he had to say after so long.

" Three-day supply of K-rations, chocolate bars, charms candy, powdered coffee, sugar, matches, compass, bayonet, entrenching tool, ammunition, gas mask, musette bag with ammo, my webbing, my .45, canteen, two cartons of smokes, hawkins mine, two grenades, smoke grenade, gamma grenade, TNT, this bullshit," hollered Toye, throwing god-knows-what to the ground, " and a pair of nasty skivvies." Lizzie glanced his way from where she had set out all her medical supplies on a tarp on the tarmac. She smirked. 

" What's your point?" Perconte asked the man next to him, as he whipped off his gloves.

" You know, this stuff weighs as much as I do. I've still got my chute, my reserve chut, my Mae West, my M-1." Toye said quickly.

" Where are you keeping your brass knuckles?" Perconte asked the man with a chuckle, standing to teeter off somewhere else.

" I could use some brass knuckles." Toye said with an upturned glance, where he caught Lizzie looking his way with a raised brow, which Joe smirked to. Lizzie slowly stood up and crouched in front of his tarmac again and raised a brow as she glanced down at his stuff. 

" Guess I shouldn't be complaining, Doc, with all that stuff, you, yourself have to carry." Joe said as he glanced up at her. She shrugged a bit and glanced back at her own things.

" Eh, what's life without a little weight." Lizzie said, as Joe smiled at her. 

" Right," he said.

" You heard about those leg bags though?" Lizzie asked him. Joe glanced up at her. 

" Leg bags?" he asked her. She pointed to where George was with the leg bag.

" The fuck?" muttered Joe, " I'll be lucky if I don't die because all this weight plummets me to my death." Lizzie laughed. 

" That'll be the day." she said as she stood up and brushed her hands against each other.

" 'Cause I mean," Lizzie said walking over to George as Joe followed her with his eyes, " I'm just as tall as this guy. And we're carrying the same weight for our tiny bodies." Lizzie wrapped an arm over George's shoulder as he glared at her.

" Oh you are funny, Lizzie." George said, but he couldn't keep the smile that broadened on his lips from his face as Joe just shook his head chuckling.

" She making fun of your height again, George?" Malarkey asked as he wandered over. 

" No!" George said, " It's called petite."

" How in any way are you petite, George?" Joe asked from his spot. George snickered. 

" Average." George said. The group just snickered shaking their heads.

" They started handing out ice cream." Malarkey said as Lizzie's head whipped around to look at him.

" Ice cream?" she asked and Malarkey nodded.

" Oh yeah, chocolate, vanilla, little bit of strawberry." he said. Lizzie's eyes widened as she met George's eyes who were equally as wide. 

" I'll race ya." George said throwing down his shovel to the ground.

" You're on!" Lizzie said, as George hopped over his stuff and shoved Lizzie to the side before racing forward.

" Screw you, George!" Lizzie called racing after him.

" Have fun!" Malarkey called, " You get those stupid leg bags after." he muttered afterwards as Joe snickered from his spot on the ground.

" Talbert!" Vest called, as Hazel, Liebgott and Tab stood in a group together chatting.

" Talbert!" Vest called again as Tab looked up again and towards Vest.

" Floyd! Floyd M, here!" Tab called to Tab and Vest looked the groups way. 

" Heavy." Vest said walking over with a box towards Tab a smirk on his face.

" Condoms?" Vest called.

" I don't know, probably." Tab said as Hazel rolled her eyes. Liebgott came over.

" Whatcha got?" Lieb asked him glancing at the box.

" 'Dear Floyd, give 'em hell.'" Floyd read and Hazel smiled. " It's from Chief of the Kokomo police department." Tab glanced at the group, and smiled.

" Right." Lieb said a big smile on his face. 

" Whoa," Tab said opening the box up, " you've gotta love cops." He pulled out a shiny pistol that gleamed in the sunlight. James Alley came over and glanced at the weapon with wide eyes and a smile, excited and giddy.

" All right, listen up, listen up." Lipton's voice called, coming through the crowd of people. 

" If you did not sign your GI Life Insurance Policy, you go on over and see Sergeant Evans at the headquarters company tent. You boys and girls don't let your families miss out on $10,000."

" You guys signed up for that yet?" Floyd asked Hazel and Joe. Hazel nodded.

" Yeah." she said softly.

" I need something for my 4 sisters if I don't make it back. They can get one of those nice fancy pictures of me and put it above their fire place." Joe said with a laugh and Hazel smirked a bit. 

Even if it was a joke, the thought of Joe dying in war only saddened her heart because really anyone could die out there. She tried to put it out of her mind when leg bags were given to everyone as well as bits of ice cream were passed around. When Lizzie and George had gotten back to their spots, they were sad to find that with the ice cream came the leg bags that were a whooping 80 pounds.

" Why're they springing these things on us now?" Malarkey asked to no one specifically looking at the huge leg bag with not-exactly-easy instructions on how to use it.

" It's just an extra 80 pounds strapped to your leg." Luz deadpanned as he walked over, " Does anybody have any idea how the hell this thing works?" 

" Beats me." muttered Lizzie repositioning the entire thing in her lap again to try and get a better view of it.

" Colonel Sink." came Vest's voice suddenly as he stepped close and shoved a paper into the hands of Bill who sat on the ground eating his bowl of ice cream like a child. 

" Colonel Sink," Vest repeated shoving the paper into Luz's hands before he glanced down at Lizzie who was just a little shorter than him.

" Soldiers of the Regiment. _Tonight_....is the _night_...of nights." Luz's impression slowly wore off as he read from the paper and Lizzie felt an unfamiliar pit of fear develop in her stomach. 

" Today, as you read this, you are en route to the great adventure for which you have trained for over two years." Lizzie stared at the paper that slightly shook between her fingers. She bit her lip and glanced towards Luz. George looked over at her with the most serious expression she'd ever seen on a person.

" So that's why they gave us ice cream." Bill said lifting the bowl of ice cream with a slight grimace. 

The sun had nearly almost set. 

Hazel walked through the entirety of the airfield, through the levels of the men, her eyes eagerly looking for someone. Someone that held a very important letter for her. She couldn't find that someone, but she hoped before the drop she'd manage to get her hands on that very important letter.

" Hey, Tiny!" she heard a voice call. She turned at the sound just as she noticed Talbert walking toward her with a smile on his face. His helmet was slightly lopsided on his head, his hair poking out in multiple directions from underneath it, his face smeared with the face-paint provided to the paratroopers. A tiny smile crossed her face as she walked toward him, stepping cautiously over top the people that sat in groups on the ground or stood in circles. 

" Hi Tab." she said with a tiny smile. Tab noticed her immediate demeanor, which most of the men in the company could pick up on it at this point. It was reserved, and quiet, and the nervous tension radiating from her was extremely evident to him.

" You ok?" he asked her, and she nodded her smile faltering. She glanced over at the duo of women sitting not to far from where she was at the moment.

" It's just a lot, you know? Everything." she said nodding, before looking back up at him. Tab nodded with a smile.

" Yeah, but hey, you're one tough chick, Tiny, I'd be scared to come across you after the drop if I were them." Tab said quietly, glancing down at the ground before looking back up at her. She let out a tiny sound of air from her nose as a laugh and a smile fell on her lips again.

" I mean, come on, it's pretty badass what you do already. Those Krauts better be terrified." Tab said.

" Tab." she muttered, with a roll of her eyes.

" Tiny, they literally have no idea that we'll have someone with a freakin sniper dropping in. I say that it'll be a sweet surprise for them. Trust me." Tab said smiling. Trust. That word was a big word for her. She's struggled with the idea of trusting someone all her life, but she was coming to terms with what that word meant to her.

" We'll see." she said beginning to turn away from him, before he caught her on the arm. 

" If I don't see you, be careful out there ok?" Tab said as she turned back to him. She nodded with a close lipped smile.

" Yeah, of course." she said, before turning away to head towards the rest of the girls. Tab watched her go with a similar nervous tension that the girl had arrived with. The girl walked back towards the girls, and when she arrived, the women noticed that similar nervous tension that bestowed the entire airfield of men now. The two women looked up when Hazel made her way to them.

" Hey." Catherine said as polished away at a tiny part of the Thompson, rubbing at the barrel of the gun with the grease.

" Hey." Hazel said before sitting down in the circle and pulling the sniper rifle into her hands, to continue her work on shining it up. Catherine could sense a bit of nervous tension and sadness that surrounded the young girl. But it was Lizzie who spoke first. She picked up on anything.

" Find Vest yet? For the letter?" Lizzie had asked Hazel, sitting up with a small smile on her face.

" No, can't find him, but I'll get it eventually. Don't worry about it." Hazel said. Catherine looked up at the mention of not worrying about it.

" Want me to find him?" Catherine asked.

" It's fine, I promise." Hazel said.

" Are you sure? You've been talking about this letter for a week. I'm not afraid to go rip him from yapping away with Joe or someone." Catherine said. Hazel smiled at her but shook her head.

" I'll be fine, it'll turn up." Hazel said with a nod.

" It'll come," Lizzie said, " I had this thing show up." Lizzie held up her letter that she seemed to want to throw into the ocean. Hazel gave a sad, small smile. She leaned back, with a small sigh, and looked to the sky. She always looked at the sky when she felt a bit lost or helpless, like she couldn't do anything. It was like a blanket of safety, similar to the one she felt with her mother. But her mother wasn't here, but the sky was comforting enough.

" Easy Company, listen up!" the entirety of Easy Company heard Meehan call over the airfield. Everyone stopped when they were doing, getting quiet immediately and turned to look over towards the CO on top of the jeep.

" Channel coast is socked in with rain and fog." Meehan called over the group. " No jump tonight. The invasion has been postponed. We're on a 24-hour stand-down." This made Hazel's stomach roll in an uneasy way. 24-hour stand down. They weren't jumping tonight, but they could in 24 hours and that was very unnerving. 

The women bided each other good bye as they moved their gear back to their bunks in the tents on the airfield. Mess hall that night was weirdly quiet, and everyone seemed to have this disheartening feeling in their souls as they sat there. Even the 'feast' that Malarkey and Skip had been so excited about didn't taste super exciting, as their stomachs rolled. 

They played a movie, but no one was focusing or even paying attention to it; the only thing on their minds being that invasion that they awaited eagerly by this point, the anxious feeling building inside their chests. 

Catherine couldn't take the movie, she needed a moment to breath so she decided to stand outside in the slowly darkening evening, she figured it'd be one of her last sunsets at this pretty place, one of her last sunsets before she was involved in the war. She was smoking, a rarity for her at times, but her stomach was twirling and she was anxious about the invasion in general. She heard footsteps and turned to see Bill coming out of the tent, with a rather upset expression across his features.

" Bill?" she asked leaning forward from the post to stand in front of him. 

" Hey, Mack," he said rather lowly and sadly, clearly in a far off place that wasn't Upottery.

" You ok?" she asked quietly, her eyes glancing down at the letter in his hand that was opened.

" Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just need a second." he said and moved past her again towards the tents lighting up a smoke as he did so. Catherine sighed watching the man go. She'd never seen Bill like that and it scared her, right before the invasion especially. 

Catherine walked towards the edge of the airfield, where the horizon was visibly lighter than the dark blue sky as it turned from evening to night. She saw a figure at the end of the airfield, staring up toward the sky, their garrison cap removed from their head, and a downward expression. 

It was Hazel, and it seemed she was praying to God. 

Catherine didn't want to interrupt the girl though. She'd been through so much at that point in her life, and even though she had the company, and the women behind her, but that didn't mean she wasn't going through things. She was earnestly awaiting the letter that she had yet to receive it seemed. Catherine turned and let the sniper be in silence. 

Hazel was actually there with the letter that she had been waiting for. It had arrived after mess hall and she'd skipped the movie completely because of her fear she'd read it and throw up during the movie and scare the others. There were fresh tears in her eyes as she sat there with the letter in her hands. She couldn't seem to force her eyes away from the paper that shook between her hands. Her eyes scanned the contents of the letter, not wanting to read each piece and put them together all at once.

_Dear Hazel,_ _  
_

_It has been quite some time, hasn't it. 11 years to be exact. I'm not proud of it, I'm not proud at all of leaving you and your mother, but I wasn't right in the head; not at all. I went away to try and deal with that and not be a burden to you and your mother, but turns out, all together, I just hurt you both more in the end. I tried escaping to the mountains in Montana. I took a few trains there, using the money I could scrounge from different cities across the nation and different towns I came upon. I got drunk a lot, wasted too much money, and found myself in the woods near a lake next. I lived in a tiny home where I was told it would help me and my brain and the insanity I seemed to be going through. That was for about a year, of trying to get through that to help me the best I could. When I came out on the other side, I feel guilty to even say it, but I wished to not return home if fear that I would harm you and your mother even more, that the scars that I had given you were too much for you to even handle in a large capacity. So I escaped to Arizona, and lived with different people during my time there, doing whatever I possibly could to survive and get work, and keep my mind off the insanity I just had narrowly escaped. I met a woman, who reminded my very much of your mother, and we courted for a year or two before we married, and had a child together. I told myself it was wrong, all of it and what I did and tried to do and tried to escape, and without a single letter of explanation, but in the end it was for the better of both of us I feel, and your mother. To do this day, I still live with only a bit of guilt, but I know you and your mother are better off without the reminder of me and what I did to you, and I hope you accept that. I hope you accept it all what I did. I live very happily now, in a town near the coast in California, where you can see the sunset. I've stopped smoking and drinking and have tempted off everything that could've put me on the trail I affected you and your mother with. I've heard you joined the Airborne, and to be honest I wasn't entirely pleased because fear of you dying overcame me. But I knew that, you, strong brave and passionate could overcome anything. I hope after the war, we get a chance to meet up and talk things out and try to understand each other. You were so young when this happened and I can't help but take blame after blame for letting it all happen initially. I have many regrets. Please write me back if you ever get the chance out there._

_Love,_ _  
_

_Your Father_

Hazel slowly lowered the letter from her vision and stared out toward the setting sun, her jaw slightly slack. Tears remained welled up in her eyes. She glanced back down at the letter as she attempted to comprehend everything. She felt the first tear drop down her cheek as she stood there and she quickly wiped it away. She watched, in silence and alone as the sun slowly set behind the horizon and the sky turned dark, so that the stars were visible enough to be seen. 

That's when Hazel cried. 

She finally let herself let out the built up emotion she couldn't cry out for the past year. Her trembling sobs escaped her lips and filled the silence and danced with the wind that swirled around her hair. She slowly let herself sit down on the ground, her knees weak from sobbing, and she let the onslaught of tears overwhelm her. She had never felt the pain she felt now. She always had trouble coping with her emotions and how to control them and sitting here not, she couldn't contain them. She was filled with pain it seemed, and it looked for a way to escape. 

Her heart ached, her chest turned sour and her throat turned sore from the heaving cries that fell from her lips. She began to feel a hand on her back, gently rubbing in a small circle, comfortingly and soothingly. 

Hazel peered over her shoulder with bright, bloodshot eyes and saw that it was Bill there. Hazel sucked in her cry, but the minute she attempted to do that, the sob escaped past her lips and she broke. Bill slowly got next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let her cry into him. Her sobs sounded like they were filled with so much aching pain, that had been just waiting to burst. Bill looked down at the girl as she cried, trying his best to comfort the emotionally distraught girl under his arm. 

She was always so humble and quiet that he would've never suspected that she was going through something like what she was possibly going through now. Hazel kept her head shoved into Bill's neck forcing herself to calm down as he held her. 

She hated crying. 

But the training for war had exposed it once too many times. 

But Bill to her was like a very protective, loyal older brother and she knew she could trust Bill, like a few others that were here. Bill was the one through training with Sobel who made sure she was never left behind, and made sure she had representation.

" Hey, kid." Bill said and Hazel glanced up at him once she had finally stopped crying and sniffled slightly. " How about you hit the hay? Ok?" She looked at him with sad eyes and then nodded slowly. 

" Yeah." she whispered. Bill slowly stood and helped the girl stand. He wasn't going to ask what had happened or what she was upset about, but he wanted to make sure she slept well and could hopefully use that for healing. The two walked back in silence, the letter from her father in Hazel's hands. The two walked back into the tent of 2nd platoon, where a tense silence blanketed the entire group already. Hazel and Bill's entrance just increased it. The minute Hazel took a seat on her bed, she glanced back down at the letter again, and felt her eyes well with tears. She closed her eyes so hard to try and not have to look at it in front of her or the writing or anything in general that dealt with the letter. 

Joe Liebgott was the one who sat down beside his best friend, wrapping his warm, comforting arm around her shoulder and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. Joe wasn't about to start asking Hazel what was wrong, he had learned from his sisters that sometimes they just liked to be held in hugs and not talked to. That being there and being held was enough. Hazel wasn't used to that sort of comfort but she was beginning to welcome it with open arms. 

Joe came to a realization that night; he didn't like seeing Hazel cry.


	30. into the unknown

" Accomplishment will prove to be a journey, not a destination."

_\- Dwight D. Eisenhower_

✰✰✰

When Joe finally got Hazel resting, or at least attempting rest, he saw the letter that she had dropped to the side. But Joe held himself and closed the letter up and placed it beside the girl's boots. It was for her eyes only and he respected that. 

The following morning, was pretty similar to last night, except that this time they knew it was the last time they'd be sleeping in those beds for a long time. It was like the calm before the storm. Everyone woke up, a few heys or hellos were given to each other, before everyone ate their fill of their meal. 

The morning was then spent preparing again for the invasion with their gear and supplies and suiting up, and they were given a late lunch to hold them over until the dropped in behind enemy lines. 

It was late afternoon, the sun the hazy color shining brightly as it did on the airfield. Hazel walked just behind Winters with the rest of Second Platoon. Her eyes were alert yet calm, and her mood was calm as well. Her sniper on her shoulder gently bumped against her leg as they walked across the airfield toward Plane 67, and her helmet slid from side to side on her head. No one was speaking; it was oddly quiet, but it felt impactful for not having to speak about anything. 

The company knew what they were doing, and in that moment they felt as prepared as they could be. Men from all over could be seen making way with their platoons to the planes, heads held high at the initiative at hand. The face paint was sticky on her face, Joe had helped her out. 

When 2nd platoon reached their plane, everyone worked together to help pull their gear on, and webbing and parachute. It was a slightly odd atmosphere as everyone pulled their gear on, preparing for the initial invasion, but preparing themselves. But how does anyone mentally do that and come out on the other side, completely fine. 

Hazel was receiving help from Tab with her gear as he had finished, pulling on straps and different flaps, tucking them in. 

She told herself she was ready for this, after everything that had happened from Virago Company to England, to then Easy Company and their training under Sobel to now Upottery Airfield, she had to convince herself she was ready. That they all were and they were deserving to do this and to succeed in the end. 

She thought of Catherine and her confidence and her intelligence. It was intimidating but for a woman of her stature, she was admirable for each and every aspect she withheld. 

Hazel thought of Lizzie, the genuine and truthful medic who never left until she cracked a joke and you smiled and made sure you were included no matter what, managing to completely amaze you and make you wonder what her other capabilities were as a medic, but as a strong woman. 

Hazel was thankful to have both those women in her life. 

She was so thankful for their officers and for their CO. They each were leaders in their own ways and they each would lead with pride for Easy Company. 

And Hazel couldn't forget Joe Liebgott, the man who had become one of her best friends and become someone she looked to, knowing she could trust, even as opposites. 

But then there was Bill and Joe Toye, and then Malarkey and Skip and Penkala, as well as George Luz. Then there was Shifty, whom was one of the people she felt closest too. He never failed to make her smile or amaze her. Each man int he company held a special place in her heart and had helped her so much through this part of the war more than she could ever imagine and thank them for.

" Alright, you're good." Tab said patting her shoulder and she turned to move but almost fell over from the heavy weight. It was heavy on her, all of it, especially with her tiny body, but she'd grown used to a weight on her shoulders by that point. Hazel knew though, she had to go and find Lizzie before she got on the plane. She needed to find Lizzie. 

" Hazel!" Lizzie called as she noticed Hazel making her way over. Lizzie herself was about to head over to find the tiny sniper. The minute Hazel reached Lizzie the two were enveloped in a tight hug. It was comforting and warm and Hazel felt like she were hugging a blood-related sister. Hazel pulled back with a smile looking up at Lizzie.

" I wish you luck, Lizzie." Hazel told the girl. Over the past 2 years, Hazel couldn't help but think about what a great combat medic Lizzie would be. 

" Hey!" a voice said and the two women turned to see Catherine coming towards them.

" Was wondering where you two were." Catherine said with a bright smile.

" You guys helped me so much these past 2 years, and I hope that all we've done helps you in the war. " Hazel said.

" You're gonna do great out there, Tiny. Everyone knows that. You might've not known that on that first day back in Athene, but we did. We all did." Catherine said looking at the young sniper. 

" You guys are like my sisters, you know that right." Hazel said with a smile at the group.

" I love you both." Hazel said smiling and looking at the group and smiles filled their faces. They knew how much that word meant to Hazel and it made them feel so happy to know Hazel felt the way she did. 

" I know both of you are going to do so well, I've admired you both so much and I adore you both." Lizzie said with a smile.

" You've both prepared so much in your own ways for this, and you all know that." Catherine said," You've both just made such an impact on me and everyone here, I don't know what I would've done if you 2 weren't there ones that I met on that day in Athene." Hazel smiled widely. 

" I wish you the best, ladies." Lizzie said smiling before hugging each other once more before going their separate ways. Catherine and Hazel arrived back at Plane 67, and continued pulling on their gear. Joe glanced at Hazel as he sat down behind Petty and she gave him a nod and a smile. He smirked at her, a twinkle like the stars, in his eye. She then moved and sat down comfortably behind Chuck where 2nd platoon and a few others from different platoons sat in the 2 lines.

" Gentlemen and ladies, Doc Roe is handing these out for air sickness. Orders are every man and woman takes one now, another 30 minutes in the air. " Meehan said to the group before turning to Winters. Gene carefully placed the air sickness pack into Hazel's hand and then gave her hand a squeeze before moving on down the line. 

" Lieutenant." Meehan said and shook Winters hand. Meehan nodded to the Lieutenant before moving and walking away toward his own plane.

" 2nd platoon, listen up." Winters said and every man and woman's eyes in the platoon looked up towards Winters who stood calm and collected. 

" Good luck. God bless you. I'll see you in the assembly area." Winters said, as suddenly everything became real. 

They were doing this. 

They were going to drop behind enemy lines and face the enemy after 5 years of waiting and seeing what they did to other people. Winters nodded to the group before stepping forward to lift each man himself to their feet and let them go to plane. 

Man after man stood up as Winters helped them to their feet and each was a silent conversation or moment of recognition of the task Easy Company and the rest of the Airborne were to be taking on. 

Winters helped up Catherine and the minute she stood, maybe a second or two longer than the rest looking at Winters with pride before nodding and walking past him towards the plane with high hopes for success. 

Winter moved to Hazel. 

She grasped his hand that he lent out to her and slowly stood to her feet with the rifle securely on her shoulder and eyes on Winters. She grasped his hand tightly, as the two watched each other's eyes.

" Thank you, sir." she whispered softly, before stepping past him as tears filled her vision. 

Winters understood that the thank you was for more than just helping her to her feet. 

Hazel climbed into the plane and then took a seat next to Chuck as she did so. Her heart raced as she looked at Catherine across from her getting situated. Liebgott was a few people down from her, and Gene was down the other way. Joe Toye and Bill Guarnere sat close together with Alex, Don and Skip, and she could also see that Tab was next to Catherine. Hazel looked over to watch Winters be helped up into the plane with his bag and glance towards the group of soldiers. 

Slowly the engine of the plane started and the propellers on the wings ramped up, signaling that soon the plane would be off and into the sky. The plane began to rattle and shake as it slowly started moving and Hazel felt her heart race quicken. 

She slowly reached down and grabbed Chuck's hand next to her as fear mounted her body as she gently let looked around the room. Chuck let her hold his hand as it was a comfort it what was about to happen. 

Hazel thought about everyone here with her, but she also thought about her mother and her babcia and her dziadek, and the people on the other planes who had helped her get where she currently was. She couldn't thank each and everyone of them enough in this moment, as she silently prayed to whatever God there was above them. 

It was quiet on the plane except for the rattling as it seemed power and pride filled the empty space as people recognized what they'd be doing and the impact it would have on the war. 

Everyone was anticipating the moment they'd feel themselves flying through the air on their first real mission, the moment they've trained years for. it was like waiting for a pin to drop in the silence of it all, as the engine whirred and their stomachs filled with some fear. Before they knew it, they were moving, picking up increasing and powerful speed towards the end of the runway and towards the sky, towards their fate and destiny as a company. 

They were flying right through the air, upwards and further towards the clouds that looked down at them everyday. And each plane followed after just like that as one big force that would penetrate another. Plane after plane took off towards the sky, banding together as it grew with each daunting plane filled with paratroopers. 

Pride filled each paratrooper's stomach as they lifted off towards the sky, looking down on the training that had guided them and looking toward the war they would soon enter and be truly tested. The setting sun shone brightly against the armada of flying planes propelling their way towards the war and Normandy. 

Hazel gripped Chuck's hand tighter before she felt the smoothness of the flying slowly level out and realize that it was finally night time so no one below could see them. She stared forward, unfocused and unfazed toward the ground, pale and emotionless as she thought about what she would encounter, what her brothers and sisters in arms would encounter and what this entire operation would soon mean back home. 

Her stomach hurt from thinking about it in general, and she had to lean back against the sides of the plane to calm herself from getting emotionally sick from it all. No one spoke as they sat in the planes, but they were all thinking about the same thing; about this great crusade they would embark on after all these years of tough training that had been so mentally challenging. 

Hazel looked at Catherine and then to Tab and then every man on the plane. The men she would fight with until the war's over and they were winning. 

The men who had taken a chance on the group of females that joined the company. 

The men who would do anything to protect their country and the men and women they would soon fight alongside with. 

Chuck looked over at her and sent her a smile, and she found the strength to smile, hopeful, back to him. They didn't have to say anything to each, but that smile sent a wave of reassurance through her entire being. 

Winters stood and moved through the rows of men and 2 women until he reached the end, where he finally sat at the resting ground of the plane and looked out at the wide world from the tiny piece of metal that flew through the sky.

She knew what he was feeling. 

They were just one small part of this war, one small part that would hopefully and very soon make a difference, as they flew through the night sky towards the ever looming empire of the Nazis. She was going to fight until the death for her country and the men and women she trained with, and for peace and freedom and democracy and happiness. 

She would fight for everyone, no matter what it may take and she knew every man in Easy would do the exact same for their country and its citizens. No one knew what would happen in the early hours of June 6th, 1944. 

No one will know what it will feel like or what they have to encounter. 

Whatever it may be soldier, sailor, and airmen alike would know they were making a difference for the war and America and the people of the world. 

They were a band of brothers and sisters. 

They were going to be the difference in the entire war, in these measly 24 hours that awaited the convoy that approached Normandy. 

So off into the unknown they went, flying through the sky or sailing through the sea, ready to fight the enemy and bring freedom. They would never surrender to the power of the Nazis, for freedom was the only thing they wanted to believe. 

Every plane, ship, boat and man wanted good to come from this; this operation they trained so tirelessly for. They were important each one of them, they might've not known that or accepted that, but each man and woman would make a difference for humanity. 

And they were all willing to risk their lives for that. 

This war was no longer about a manpower taking over the world, it was about coming together to defeat that manpower and bring liberation and peace to a world at war. 

This would be the day that lead the world to the edge of their seats and paved the way for victory and freedom. 

This would be the day where the tide-turned and for the better. They couldn't comprehend how large this operation was, but ti was huge, and they would soon learn that. The unknown was a terrifying thing, but in that moment every man and woman were willing to face that. This would be the day where the course of war and victory changed forever in the hands of a large, man-made, covert operation.

They were all ready to face that, no matter how scared they possibly were. 

This would alter the future of the world, and for the better. 

_**" Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you... Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking." - General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander** _


	31. normandy

" Fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind."

_\- Dale Carnegie_

✰✰✰

It was quiet on the plane, except for the engines that whirred constantly and the jolt every so often from the wind outside, making the plane sway a bit. 

Hazel had long ago shut her eyes, the airsickness pill working its way into her system by now and making her exhausted. Medication and pills like that always put her to sleep. 

Catherine however, was awake, twiddling her thumbs together, mentally trying to prepare herself for what they were doing. Her mind couldn't comprehend it, but she figured at this point nobody could. She looked across the way towards Hazel, who was so tiny next to Chuck, with just enough room to squeeze herself in next to him. 

Catherine could tell Hazel was sleeping, her head titled to the side against Chuck's shoulder a bit, who also happened to be asleep, and her mouth slightly parted, her eyelids gently closed over her bright, blue eyes. She seemed peaceful for the moment, the sniper rifle leaned up next to her though, adding the texture of seriousness to the scene. 

Everyone seemed anxious though, which grew to Catherine.

Malarkey kept glancing out of the window, and Joe was rather wide-eyed and repeatedly biting his lip. Others attempted adjustments to their gear, loosening in or tightening it every so often, in nervousness of anxiousness. 

Winters was watching Catherine and she turned her head ever so slightly and met his gaze with a nervous smile; he smiled back and that settled her for the time being as her hands became twitchy and jittery. She felt her stomach turn sour at the thought of what might happen after they jump out of the plane. Her thoughts went out to Lizzie on another plane with Lip and Buck and Welsh. 

Catherine glanced towards Gene at the end of the stick across from Winters. His eyes seemed filled with their usual worry, staying unfocused in front of him. Catherine wished she could say a simple word of comfort to their medic who seemed to be having his own internal battle as he sat there. 

Everyone was though. 

Hazel felt nestled in, half awake, half asleep, and she yawned a bit as she rested against Chuck. 

But then the whole plane shook a bit, and there was the distant sound of a bomb coming from below. Her eyes flew open. She felt her heart lodge into her throat, as the tension inside the plane mounted. Hazel slowly sat up from Chuck's shoulder as more sound of bombs were heard again and again, growing closer with each passing second. 

Hazel slowly pushed her helmet on top of her head in anticipation glancing towards Catherine across from her, who already sat on the edge of her seat with nerves. Catherine met her eyes and gave her a slight nod, as if she were to wish her good luck at the impending jump that was minutes away from happening. 

Just at that moment, a red glow blinked on in the wake of the bombing sounds and all eyes seemed to travel to the source. Hazel watched, her heart pounding rapidly inside her and the pit in her stomach dropping to her toes, as Winters stood in the haze of the red light and turned toward the rest of the plane.

" Get ready!" Winters yelled to the group, holding out his hands in front of him. Hazel pulled her chord out in front of her holding it as steady as she could in her shaking hands. 

" Stand up!" Winters called, and everyone moved to their feet, the two rows, mixing now. Hazel ended up behind Catherine and in front of Tab, and she could tell from the tension in front and behind her that their nerves were through the roof.

" Hook up!" Winters voice called again, as Hazel took her chord and clipped it to the wire above them. An explosion hit close to the plane and Hazel felt her knees turn to complete jello.

" Equipment check!" Winters called. Hazel felt Tab, respectfully, begin checking her gear and making sure it was secure. She reached forward herself and carefully did the same thing to Catherine, tightening any loose ends and straps. 

Clicks echoed off through the plane as another explosion shook the plane and jolted Hazel forward into Catherine, who's built figured stopped her from falling forward even more. Hazel's head swam, as she wobbled a bit before regaining composure and balance.

" Sound off for equipment check!" came Winter's voice. The calls echoed off through the plane, and Hazel prepared herself mentally for everything. 

" Six ok!" Tab called behind her, tapping her shoulder.

" Five ok!" Hazel yelled, surprisingly loud in Catherine's ear, so much so, she wasn't sure it was Hazel's voice. 

But the girl had much more inside her, including the volume of her voice. 

It seemed that once the plane pushed through the clouds was when the explosions grew and the bombing sound grew louder right outside the plane. Lights flashed, knocking the planes from side to side, shooting people to the side onto the benches and forcing them to stand up again in the chaos. 

Hazel gripped tightly onto chord that held her at her feet, before glancing out the window, and watching as a plane engulfed in fire went quickly down to its fate. She swallowed quickly. She watched the chaos unfold quickly outside as flashing and bombs and planes exploding and perishing to the ground occurred. She also watched as tiny parachutes began appearing outside of the windows, signifying that people have jumped, people have made their jump into the invasion. She wondered if Lizzie had made her jump. She wondered if she was alive and okay, if she had touched the ground. She hated the thought of the fact that she could be dead. She didn't want to think about it.

" We get any lower, we ain't gonna need any friggin' parachutes!" Hazel heard Skip call from a person or two up. A shot pulsed through a window, hitting someone who was peering out it and back, Hazel couldn't watch, her mind in fragments. 

Suddenly, just like the flip of a switch, which it probably was, the light turned green; that bright, bearing color that signaled the jump. It was time for a jump.

" Let's go!" Winters yelled, turning to call towards the entire plane. Then she watched as Winters jumped right out of the plane. Gene followed right after him without hesitation. Person after person went out the door, until Hazel watched Catherine jump straight out the door with a powerful determination. 

Hazel stepped up to the door, and she felt Tab's hand give her one final, farewell squeeze before she jumped right out of the door. The wind hit her immediately, as she felt the chord disconnect from the plane and she was above Normandy, swinging and falling through the bomb-filled sky. 

She strained to look for the DZ, or even some light, but the wind pushed in every direction possible before she felt the parachute open above her head. She felt the air push through it and pulse upward a few feet before settling. It was loud as guns shot, bombs exploded and there were distant yells and screams. She saw fires, the remnants of explosions of downed planes and the bodies of people. 

She knew that for many people that would be their final resting place. 

Hazel felt the wind guide her out of the way of the fire, but farther from the DZ, and her heart pounded faster in fear. She was guided further away from the sight of probably more of the paratroopers and she felt the ground coming closer and closer, as gravity pulled her done more. She passed a hedge of trees, before the field opened up and it came closer. 

The impact hit her like a wall of bricks, as she crashed down into the muddy field. She felt the parachute land roughly on top of her and she let out a groan. She roughly pushed the top layer off her head and groaned again as she sat up from her uncomfortable position on the ground. 

Her first view she got was the darkness of the Earth compared to the sky. It was eerily silent so close to the ground and away from the quickness of the action. She saw the mass of trees she had previously floated over, and she saw the field expand on for quite some time before hitting a farm and another mass of trees. She noticed there was a road nearby, something she did not want to approach. The crickets were out, chirping surprisingly, as they had yet to be hit with impact from the invasion. 

Hazel quickly detached the parachute and rolled it up, before shoving it away and discarding it. She then reached for her leg bag and froze. She reached frantically again and found it was not there. 

When had it flown off? 

Did something hit it off? 

She looked around before looking bag where the leg bag had been.

" Come on." she muttered and reached for her sniper rifle which was still there. She pulled the rifle around and into her arms and reached for ammo. She pulled what she had from her belt that contained ammo and inserted it quickly into the weapon, before closing it up and locking it up safely. She adjusted her helmet on her head before moving to a crouched position and glancing around. No one else had landed where she had landed, or at least that's what it looked like. 

Hazel slowly moved to her feet and began moving in a crouched position over towards the big hedge of trees. The road remained an open barrier than she would have to move across to get to the other side, but she figured she would be willing to take that risk to get there. Hazel sucked in a breath, and sprinted out from the field of tall grass, across the road and into the dense trees. 

The minute she reached the other side, her heart raced rapidly before she attempted to calm it with deep breathing. She leaned up against a tree and peaked out again around a corner, observing her surroundings that awaited ahead of her. Hazel walked slowly and quietly walking through the forest toward her expected assembly area, the weapon gripped tightly in her hands, ready to fire at any given moment. 

\----

Catherine had been in a free fall for longer than she had initially wanted, before the parachute opened. But the ground was too close, and her body was in the wrong direction, her legs flying out from the side of her, her shoulder headed directly for the pile of logs that were below her. Catherine frantically reached up to guide the risers a bit, but before her hand could even grasp them, her shoulder slammed down right into those thick logs, the rest of her body pushing down on that and the parachute falling heavily over top her. 

Immediately Catherine's right hand flew to her left shoulder, and she grimaced, pressing her teeth together, as pain simmered in her shoulder, a dull throb slowly becoming apparent in the shoulder area. It was burning on the outside and the inside. 

But she would suffocate long before she could figure out the shoulder wound. 

Catherine groaned as she pulled her right hand away and to the knife in her pocket, blood covering over her fingers as she did so, and forced the knife up into the parachute to cut a hole. Her left arm entirely wouldn't move, much less the shoulder, and with each plunge of the knife into the fabric of the parachute, her left shoulder seemed to pulse in ever worse pain. 

She had to pull her webbing off, yes, that was what she had to do next. 

And then she had to access her weapon and her maps. 

Her mind went into overdrive as the throbbing wound moved back into her brain again. 

Catherine pushed open where she had cut through the parachute, there was a slight humid breeze that washed over her. Catherine slowly, grimacing as she did so, pulled the right part of her webbing from her shoulder, before glancing at her left shoulder. She had to remove the webbing to get to cover. Catherine shifted, and a sharp pain shot through her shoulder as tears swarmed her vision and her heart rate spiked. It was bleeding profusely, whatever had happened, and to move it would just release even more blood. 

But the area where the wound was, the parachute was ripped and bare bark lay open, perfect for slicing open human skin. However, Catherine's entire shoulder hurt, internally. 

Not just on the outside. 

Catherine had to move and get the left shoulder after the webbing. Catherine searched around for the knife again, and slowly picked it up, looking at the handle on it. She shut her eyes for a moment and sucked in a breath, before placing the handle in between her teeth. Catherine then turned to the bark and her shoulder and the webbing. Catherine grabbed the webbing, gritting her teeth in pain as she did so. 

Then she quickly pulled the webbing off, over her shoulder, a strangled cry escaping past her lips as her shoulder seemed to lock up in utter pain, as tears streamed down her cheeks, pain throbbing now in her entire upper left arm. Catherine was trembling with worry and anxiety that filled her system, as her head spun and her mouth grew dry. 

She hadn't even stepped on the actual ground and she was wounded. 

But she had to make a makeshift splint to secure it, yeah, that's what Gene or Lizzie would tell her if they were here. 

But she was bleeding as well, profusely. Blood loss came to her mind, if she lost too much she could die. If the wound got infected, it could take a turn for the worst. She was already sweating, and some of her tears of pain mixed with the sweat crawling down her forehead. 

She yanked the only bandage she had in her med kit and began attempting some sort of splint. She moved her shoulder area from straight to bent in one swift movement, and bit her lip until the point of blood to hold back the cry that wanted to erupt from her mouth. She tied the entire thing up, the white standing out a bit more than everything else in the darkness. 

Catherine forced herself to push up from where she was against the bark of the logs with the parachute and get to the ground. As she stood, she felt light headed, but her shoulder hurt even more and was where all her focus went to. Catherine, struggling, moved off the logs and touched the French ground, before collapsing, her shoulder twisting in pain as tears flew into her vision again. 

It was an overwhelming pain that flooded her entire system. 

There were tears in her eyes. 

Tears. 

She never cried. 

She hadn't cried in a while. She forced herself to suck up the tears as she grabbed dirt and leaves to hide the bright white bandage from sight for camouflage. When she finished, her shoulder continued to throb, as she heard explosions in the far off distance, the cracking of weapons and she swore she heard things in the woods, which made her heart pulse in fear. She looked around at the nearby forest; she had to get in there. 

Catherine moved to her feet, bending down, to pull her Thompson on her shoulder, and her map into her hand. Then she stood, wobbling on two feet, as she continued feeling light headed and ill. Her hands were covered in blood and dirt and tree bark and now sweat from worry. As she continued through the forest, she began feeling more light headed. 

The Thompson slowly fell from her shoulder, as her hand grew numb, and her feet stumbled over each other. She collapsed against a tree, and let out a pained cry, trembling. The pain was too overwhelming internally and externally. 

Then she heard footsteps and she froze. 

Her heart pounded and it felt like in a second it was going to pound out of her chest. The footsteps were gentle and cautious and familiar. They were not that German, they were American. Catherine fumbled with the cricket in her hand and managed to click it. The footsteps stopped, and then a second later two clicks answered back. It was an American paratrooper.

" Flash." Catherine called out in pain. 

" Thunder." the call came back and Catherine looked up to see a dark figure appear through the trees. 

It was Doc Roe. 

Immediately Catherine's eyes filled with more unwanted tears at the sight of a medic, someone who could help her. 

Because she did recognize she needed help.

" Gene," she whimpered out as the medic immediately brought his attention to the splint on her arm, covered in dirt and blood, and the trembling of her feet and arms, her eyes with tears streaking down her cheeks. 

" Catherine," Gene said, as he quickly moved towards her and crouched by her side in the pitch black of the night. 

Catherine and Gene never crossed paths enough to have conversation or even really interact with each other, but now thrust into the middle of war, their paths were diverged.

" It's my arm, Gene." Catherine whimpered out, as Gene's eyes went to her shoulder. He quickly stepped over her and moved his hands to her shoulder. He touched it gently as she flinched and blood appeared on his finger tips. 

" What happened?" Gene asked her as she glanced towards him.

" My parachute didn't open up until I was only 100 feet above the ground, and I crashed into a bunch of lumber. My shoulder hit first." Catherine whimpered out, as a heavy feeling filled her throat, the feeling of sobbing and utter despair. She never would've suspected to be injured in the jump, that wasn't the part she had feared. Gene gently pressed against the wrapped part of the shoulder and Catherine let out a pained whimper, as her right hand went up to stop Gene's hands on her shoulder.

" It's okay." Gene said softly, as he looked at the bleeding part of the wound. Catherine squeezed her eyes shut as he pressed again on the tender part of her shoulder. Catherine grimaced again.

" We have to move, Gene." Catherine whispered, her voice on the verge of breaking. 

" Catherine you're hurt." Gene said, " Let me wrap ya up." Catherine clamped her mouth shut, she knew she had to listen to him. 

Catherine shoved a hand over her face, and let an onslaught of tears past her lips, hiding her tears. It hurt so bad, and she knew that this could send her back to England. 

Gene looked at the woman, who he had never once seen cry, crying right in front of him. And his heart broke as she did so. She was in so much mental and emotional and physical pain. He couldn't do anything serious until they reached the general assembly area.

" Catherine." he said quietly, leaning forward closer to her, to keep his voice down and from being heard. She looked at him with tear filled, pained eyes. 

" Do you have something I can take?" she asked through a sob.

" I can give you morphine, and hope that it doesn't knock you out." Gene said pulling the tiny vial from his pocket. 

" Anything to get rid of the pain." she cried out, wiping at her eyes again. Gene moved over to her good arm and gently inserted the vial of medicine. Catherine felt her pain slowly disappear for it's worth and she felt relief hit her system. Her heart rate slowed down and her breathing became even again as she felt her arm for the most part go numb, or so it felt. Catherine looked toward Gene and swallowed heavily.

" Thank you." she managed out. Gene nodded. 

" You'll have to be evacuated," Gene said sadly looking at her below the bottom of the rim of his helmet. Catherine felt tears well up in her eyes at that thought. She knew he was telling the truth, something she had to accept by this point, but as she sat here in the middle of the forest in Normandy, she couldn't help but cry. 

She had just gotten to the war, she had so long wished to fight in.

" Yeah." she managed out, her voice breaking sadly at the end. Gene looked at her sad eyes, before looking around.

" We should get you up." he said watching her softly. She nodded faintly and held up her good arm for him to help her up with. He crouched down and then slowly lifted her to feet and secured her good arm around his shoulder to help her walk without falling as the morphine really kicked. The medic and the rifleman continued off into the dark, towards the ever looming chaos that would greet them. 

\----

Lizzie had a fairly rough landing, straight on her legs, which shook with shock as she tried to stand. Her medic satchel had flapped over a bit, and her supplies flew a bit to the ground, and she hurriedly attempted to clean it up quickly. The parachute, she quickly discarded before turning and running into the woods her heart pounding wildly out of her chest. She'd seen a few parachutes land close to her, but her fear of Germans finding her made her run for cover. Lizzie watched as someone darted away from the parachute toward the left. Lizzie carefully hurried through the trees, and continued until she came to where the person had run into.

" Flash?" she called frantically, her hands gripping the strap around the medic satchel tightly as she moved through. 

" Thunder, Thunder, I'm here." the voice called, and she immediately recognized it as Floyd's.

" Tab!" she called with relief as she watched as the man appeared around the tree up ahead and hurried toward her. Lizzie couldn't help but wrap the man in a tight hug, just for a moment of comfort after the terrifying jump. Tab pulled back and held her at arms length. 

" Are you hurt?" he asked her quickly.

" No, no I'm fine, did you see anybody else?" she asked. 

" No, I just landed, you?" he asked and Lizzie shook her head.

" We should probably get moving." Lizzie said.

" Yeah, let's go." Tab said as the two began moving through the trees through the forest in Normandy. Lizzie stayed close to Tab, as her eyes continued scanning over the land around them, as her footsteps and Tab's remained quiet and gentle as they padded against the ground. Lizzie's heart was pounding. She hadn't expected to meet up with someone as quickly as she did. 

From the way the plane was going, she had expected to be pushed off course and have to trek through the woods, hoping she wasn't killed. But meeting up with Tab had put a new sense of security within her. He had a weapon and he was skilled with it. 

And Lizzie trusted Tab as a loyal NCO of Easy Company and of Winters.

" How'd you feel with your jump?" Tab asked her softly as she moved closer to his side. 

" It was fine, I guess, " Lizzie said, " that wasn't the scary part though, Tab." Tab glanced at Lizzie. 

" A prop blast came at me, and I just missed it. I was near death for a bit, but hey, I'm still here." Lizzie said and Tab chuckled. 

" Glad you can joke about it," Tab said, " but you ok?" Lizzie looked at him, her face paint starting to sweat off.

" Yeah, yeah I'll be fine. You?" she asked.

" Yeah," Tab said, " we'll both be fine." Lizzie nodded, smiling at him, and gently gripped his bicep and patted it with an affirming nod. 

Then, there was a crack, and the medic and NCO froze, hands on each other's soldiers, looking towards the sound. The footsteps were coming closer. Lizzie watched Tab out of the corner of her eye reach down to pull out his cricket. Tab gave it a click. The footsteps immediately stopped and a few seconds later, 2 clicks answered.

" Flash?" Tab called out. 

" Thunder." the call came back and Lizzie knew who it was instantly. She could recognize that voice anywhere. 

It was Shifty Powers. 

The Virginia man stepped out from the trees and Lizzie watched in the moonlight as a smile spread across his face when he saw the group.

" Shifty." Lizzie said as a tiny grin grew on her face as Tab lowered his cricket a smile on his own face. 

" Hey guys." Shifty said. Lizzie walked forward and hugged Shifty tightly before pulling back and glancing at Tab who came over and shook Shifty's hand.

" Well I guess 2 guns were better than 1 anyway." Tab said as the two laughed looking at the NCO.

" Let's get going." Tab said and the duo nodded before following after Tab into the ever looming darkness of Normandy.


	32. the silencing of war

" Silence if a gift. Learn to value its essence."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Hazel was quiet, waiting beside a tree, the only sound the crickets, the soft bombing noises in the background, and her quick breathes. Her rifle was clasped tightly in her sweaty grip and her heard had a dull ache in the back of it as she leaned up against the rough bark of the French tree, who was seeing war for a second time most likely. 

She had been moving discretely along the path of road nearby, when German voices infiltrated her ears. 

Now, she was currently positioned behind a tree, near the road, waiting for them to pass. After her landing, when she'd gone off into the forest, she had started sweating big time, and hadn't managed to come upon any other member of Easy Company or any other member that was associated with the paratroopers. 

Hazel reached up to wipe the sweat from her forehead and sighed softly, she was growing dehydrated, that's why she had a headache. Hazel reached for the canteen in her belt and slowly pulled out the canteen to take a sip from it. 

The slightly warmed water was a relief on her throat, but it didn't shake the feeling of dehydration from her system. Hazel slowly attached her canteen again to her waist. 

But then there was a crack of a branch beside her. 

Hazel froze, hand not coming off the canteen on her waist. She was quick to grab her weapon and turn quickly with her rifle, which ended up aimed straight between the eyes of a German. 

The German's green eyes were wide, staring at her, breathing heavy. 

Neither reacted at first. 

They just stared at each other, breathing heavy, terrified. 

Then the German jumped at her, knocking the weapon from her hand. 

She could've shot him. But she had frozen; you never knew your reaction in war. 

The German slammed her back to the ground, as the air escaped her lungs, as he struggled for power over her. Sweat from his face dripped off him, as he cursed angrily in German as both of them struggled to hold dominance over the other. 

But then Hazel grew calm, as his hands, twisted her wrists. She moved her free leg up and her knee went straight into his back, causing him to let out a shriek in pain, as his hands went to his back, releasing Hazel from the tight grip he had her in. 

This gave Hazel the chance, to wind up a punch and launch it straight into his nose, causing him to fall back from her body, clutching his gushing nose, and struggling to stand from his back. 

Hazel watched as he struggled, falling back from her legs, giving her the opportunity to bring her leg up and knock him in the chest, knocking him backwards on the ground. Hazel sat forward, pulling her knife from its sheath and jumping on top of the German, holding a knife to his neck. 

Her knees, held down both his arms away from his nose as they bled and his wide frantic eyes looked up at Hazel, terrified. He started speaking in rushed German, over and over. 

But the thought running through her brain was that, if she let him go, he'd start spouting off to his buddies. 

And she felt she couldn't allow that. 

But killing a man? 

Right now, with her bare hands? 

How would she justify that later? 

But it was war. Hazel stared at him, breathing heavy, her face paint seeming to melt off her features. He was staring at her with such fear, his face pale in the moonlight and his green eyes seeming to shake with horror as the knife lay on his neck. Hazel was panting, her eyes watching his, her heart seeming to fall inside her chest. 

It was so quiet. 

Hazel couldn't help but feel the tears that blurred her vision as she stared at the soldier, a man fighting a war for his own country. He was just another human in this war, but he was also the enemy. 

Hazel's heart was torn from right and from good. 

Hazel then shut her eyes and brought the knife across the soldier's throat, ending his life. 

He stopped breathing and when she opened her eyes, she watched the life that was once in his eyes slowly fade to a blank nothing. 

Hazel felt a trembling sob escape past her lips, as the knife clattered out of her hands, and her hands pressed to her mouth, quiet cries of pain and realization hitting her entire body of what she had just done. 

She had killed a man. 

She scrambled off the body, pressing her back against the tree, heaving big gulps of air to stop the sobs that wanted to escape. 

The man was dead, right in front of her. 

She had killed her first person in war. 

Something deep in her gut settled in like a disease, an overwhelming guilt of what she had just done. This person was dead because of her. Her heart was pounding as she looked up towards the stars, forcing herself to calm down.

" Don't cry." Hazel whispered to herself, " Please," Hazel whispered again, " don't cry." Tears welled in her eyes, " Don't cry, Hazel." Hazel repeated those words softly, in a voice barely above a whisper, convincing herself and forcing herself not to cry over this, to not be vulnerable in any sense to anyone. 

Even to a dead man. 

Hazel gritted her teeth and forced herself up to her feet, grabbing her weapon, grabbing her knife, and wiping the stray tear from her cheek. She looked back down at the man in front of herself, and noticed a tiny white spec on his coat. She slowly reached forward and plucked the tiny thing from his coat. 

It was a flower. 

The flower had white petals and a yellow center. She stared at it softly. Hazel shut her eyes, and pushed her lips together, forcing herself not to cry again. She was strong enough not to. Hazel looked at the flower again and gently tucked it into his pocket, where it would be protected with pictures of his family, where someone would find him soon enough. Hazel then slowly moved to her feet and stared at him softly again. 

Hazel nodded to him slowly, before turning and hurrying off through the woods again, her heart racing inside of her, her mind a complete and utter mess with the guilt she would have to deal with for the rest of her life. 

Hazel continued slowly treading her way through the darkness of the early morning, eyes wide searching and ears listening for sounds of the others. She could hear crickets chirping, as the humidity forced her uniform to stick to her skin. She was sweating nervously, as she held her finger on the trigger of her weapon as she walked, crouched and low to the ground. 

Then she heard something crack. 

Hazel froze. 

She heard silent clicking.

" Flash?" Hazel whispered.

" Thunder." the voice answered. Lip. It was Lipton.

" Lip." Hazel whispered as she turned towards the source of the voice. She watched as Lip and to other men appeared out of the underbrush. 

" Hazel." Lip said and a smile fell on his face as he saw the girl standing there.

" How're you doing?" he asked her.

" I'm ok," Hazel answered her heart pounding, " you?" She pushed all thoughts of her previous encounter from her mind; she couldn't think on it any longer.

" Doing well, met up with 2 boys from the 82nd." Lip said and Hazel raised a brow. 

" We're surely spread out." Hazel said with a tiny glance up to him. 

" Very, all over the peninsula." Lip told her. Hazel let out a sigh. Lip then noticed her hands.

" You ok?" Lip asked, pointing to her hands. Hazel looked in his eyes and then towards her hands as the two 82nd boys appeared. Hazel met his eyes again and seemingly in silent conversation, Lip understood what she had to do before they'd met up, what she had done. Lip gently nodded to her. She bit her lip and nodded back. 

He knew. 

They moved towards a small stream that ran nearby, and Lip turned to look towards Hazel and the two 82nd boys and nodded to the river. Something cracked loudly, mostly from Lipton's foot on a branch or two as he moved towards the riverbed.

All the sudden, a clicking was heard from a cricket nearby, and Lip stopped Hazel and the other two. Lip quickly pulled out his clicker and clicked back. Lip then stepped forward and slowly moved through the shallow river. Hazel stepped into the water behind him and her feet became soaked immediately as she followed behind Lip.

" Who's that?" the voice asked hurriedly, and Hazel felt her eyebrows raised. 

" Lieutenant Winters, is that you?" Lip asked, as he continued through the water to the other side. 

Hazel watched with relief as Winters stepped out from behind the bush, another man with him. Lip took off with graceful steps through the water splashing it upwards, and the other 3 followed behind, arriving in front of Winters and beside Lip. 

" Get in here, sit down. Any weapon?" Winters asked quickly in a whisper to Lip.

" No, sir." Lip answered pulling his gloves from his hands. " As soon as I hit that prop blast, so long leg-bag. All I got is this knife and some TNT. Then I met up with Hazel, who still has her rifle. These 82nd boys got their M-1s, though." 

" Oh, man, 82nd, where the hell are we?" the man next to Winters asked. Hazel glanced towards him and quirked a raised brow at Winters as her rifle hung loosely in her hands, as she crouched beside the man Winters was with.

" Sir, I saw a sign back thataways, said ' Sainte Mere-Eglise'." Lip said as he began to pull off some equipment to situate himself. Hazel watched as Winters then reached down to his belt, more so a little below it and unzipped. Winters pulled out a tiny magnifier. 

" Flashlight." Winters said. Lip handed over the flashlight.

" Raincoat." Winters said. LIp didn't have an answer for that.

" You got a raincoat?" Lip asked looking over toward Hazel and the 82nd boys.

" Yeah." one of them answered turning to the other 82nd boy to get it out for him. Winters and Lip worked together to lay out the raincoat so WInters could look at his map underneath. Hazel trusted Winters judgements, and felt she needed to talk to the man they saw him arrive with. 

" Who are you?" Hazel asked the man crouched besides Winters.

" Private John Hall, ma'am." he said with a nod to her, noticing the Corporal stripe on her arm. " I'm from Able. Lieutenant Winters was my Basketball Coach on the team they had." Hazel smiled. 

" What about you, ma'am?" he asked her.

" Hazel Parker, I'm with Winters in Easy Company." she said with a smile. 

" You're one of those women that joined the Airborne, right? A Virago?" a guy from the 82nd asked.

" Yeah, one." she said with a tiny smile. Winters then suddenly made his way back out from under the raincoat and looked towards the group. 

" We're about 7 kilometers away from our objective. And four hours away from when we need to have it secured. So, we got a lot of walking ahead of us." Winters said looking at the group and handing the flashlight back to Lip.

" You men stick with us until we find your unit." Winters said to the two 82nd men. 

" Let's go." Lip said as Winters quickly stood to his feet, and the others stood as well.

" Hey, sarge, where are we going?" one of the men asked Lip, as Hazel smiled following Winters. He always was a man with a plan.

" Causeway number two, Utah Beach." Lip said, " The Germans flooded the fields inland. We don't clear those routes, our boys ain't going nowhere."

" Six of us ain't gonna secure a road." the 2nd 82nd boy said to his buddy. " That Louie don't even have a weapon." Hazel just caught up with Lip, to follow beside the first person she met up with on the ground. They all kept quiet and alert as they walked nearing a railroad in front of them. 

Hazel's exterior was silent and calm and composed, but on the inside, her mind roared with such a fierce fire, like two lions finally fighting and brawling after hours of tension of stalking each other. Her mind was in absolute pieces.

" You ok, Hazel?" Lip asked softly as he walked beside her. Hazel looked up at him, her heart pounding. She trusted Lip, mostly because even back within their first months of knowing each other, Hazel knew he was a man that would lead Easy, even as a senior NCO. He always cared for the 3 women wholeheartedly as well, like Winters did. 

" The blood on my hands," Hazel whispered, " it's not mine." Lip watched her as they continued through the dark forest. Lip licked his lips as he softly watched her.

" I killed someone." Hazel whispered, and she said it as if it were a horrid secret, which for Hazel, it was. Lip gently placed a hand on her shoulder as they continued walking and rubbed it gently. 

" I know it's war, Lip, but it was the first time...the first time I had to do something like that. To Take a man's life for my own? I feel so guilty, so selfish." she whispered, as Winters glanced back towards them as he led the front of the group.

" It's just something I have to grow used to." Hazel whispered.

" It's okay for that to be scary, Hazel. Killing another for your own safety, but as you've said it, as we all have, that's the true horror of war." Lip whispered and Hazel nodded. 

It was a tough pill to swallow, but it was true. 

It really was the horror and brutal reality of the modern war they were thrust straight into. 

Suddenly, Winters put up a hand to stop them, right beside a nearby railroad, there were footsteps along metal it sounded. 

Footsteps along the railroad.

" I don't remember hearing about any railroads near our objective." the group heard a voice say, as they hide in the trees by a railroad.

It sounded as if it were Malarkey's.

" I'm telling ya, this is the spur line that runs parallel to the river." they heard another voice say, clearly Joe Toye's, and Hazel smiled at the sound. " We should be coming up to a road and bridge ahead."

" Yeah? How would you know?" Malarkey said smartly. 

" Because I studied sand tables, alright?" Toye bit back. The group quickly stopped talking and Hazel glanced at Winters.

" Flash." Winters called out quickly. 

" Thunder!" the group on the railway called out as they turned and watched as the group of 6 emerged from behind the bushes, eyes in awe and wide.

" Lieutenant is that you?" Malarkey asked as the group stepped closer. 

" Malarkey?" Winters asked stepping closer as Hazel came into view of the, now visible, 4 men that stood there.

" Sir." Malarkey said and Winters nodded. "

Tiny!" Malarkey said catching sight of the girl with her helmet strap dangling and the rifle tucked into her arms, a small smile on her face.

" Hi," she said coming up as he wrapped her in a quick hug and she turned and watched as the others greeted each other in thanks and relief. 

" Joe." Hazel said and he turned, a smile finding its way onto her face when he saw the girl.

" I thought that was you, Tiny." he said as he pulled the girl into a warm hug. 

" Hey, kid that you?" Bill asked as Hazel pulled back and smiled seeing Bill.

" He, Bill." she said as she hugged him tightly, and then turned and saw Popeye. Bill had seemed tense, but she didn't push it.

" Hey, Pop." she said as she wrapped him in a warm hug.

" We thought that was you." he told her and she smiled brightly at him. 

" I guess I am the only one with a fairly high pitched voice." she said with a smile as the two followed after the rest of the group laughing lightly. Bill Guarnere and the new guy, Hall, took the lead. Guarnere, who seemed angry and upset at the same time, was quieter than usual and a bit snippy. 

Hazel kept her senses on alert as she walked down the railway next to Joe. Her eyes flitted back and forth across the entirety of the forest and railway in front of them and her head turned at every move. 

Winters was only a bit behind her. 

The group kept a fairly loose protective circle around Winters, who was weaponless and their leader right now. Hazel took every step with caution as she continued moving forward, slow but steady, until the point where the entire group halted and she watched Hall hold up a hand and slowly crouch to the ground, the rest of the squad they had following. She heard a horse neigh, from a little down the side of the hill they were on and her heart started racing. 

Winters made a move up through the group towards the front and to where the bridge would be. Hazel watched as Winters turned and hurried back towards the rest of the group calling Lip's name.

" Go." Winters said in a quick rushed voice, motioning to the right.

" Guarnere." Winters called, directing the other group down straightforward. Hazel glanced at Winters and he motioned her to follow him and she nodded quickly. Hazel sat slightly behind Winters, watching as each man got into his set position for the ambush that was about to occur. Hazel glanced up at Lip who glanced down towards her and nodded. Hazel slowly glanced towards the rest of the men again as they all waited earnestly.

" Wait for my command." Winters said. 

Hazel glanced towards the sound of the upcoming horses. Her heart raced faster as sweat beaded along the line on her forehead and slowly dripped down the side of her grease painted face, making lines in the already messed up paint.

It came closer, with each increasing second that ticked by like a watch in her ear. The shadow made its way across the way, the horses heads bobbing with the shadows until he point where the black wagon was visible. 

Winters held his hand up, holding the group in position. He motioned to Hazel, to lie down and set her weapon. And she did, sitting in the cold ground, and setting up her scope and weapon facing forward, clicking her scope into its correct magnification. 

Then there was unexpected firing coming from their left. It was loud and quick and filled with undeniable anger. The horses began neighing louder and panicked as screams echoed and shots made impact with bodies. 

This caused the others to start shooting, thinking Winters had given his command. It was a chaotic mess as horses ran past with no driver and Germans fell like old rags to the ground, splashing in the mud from the rain that had poured earlier. 

Shot after shot rang out and Hazel watched with wide horrified eyes as Guarnere slowly began to obliterate them all. 

There were calls for a grenade from someone and an explosion rang out, sending Hazel's ears ringing at the noise. 

She could barely even fire her weapon. 

She couldn't. 

There was the sight of a horse falling to the ground, neighing in complete pain and a German standing for surrender but quickly being shot down. Hazel couldn't stop watching Bill's weapon fire round after round into what seemed like the sky over and over, the horse's panic filling Hazel. Each soldier continued to fire their weapons until it seemed that every last German had fallen.

" That's enough, _Guarnere_!" Winters suddenly yelled, standing up and pushing the man back from the sight and letting his hands fall from the gun. The two stared intensely at each other as Hazel watched with earnest eyes. 

" Everyone ok?" Winters asked holding his gaze with Guarnere as the horse whinnied.

" Yes, sir." came the unified response. The horse continued in pain, but Hazel could only focus on the tension between the two men in front of her.

" Next time I say wait for my command, you wait for my command, Sergeant." Winters said with emphasis.

" Yes, sir." Bill said, holding the gaze. There was a single loud shot that rang out making everyone jump, and turn toward where it had come from. Joe stood above, lowering his pistol with the most un-empathetic face there ever was on a person. Hazel let out a tiny sigh, as she slowly pushed up from the ground with Malarkey's help. Hazel looked towards Bill again, worry filling her system and making her stomach turn sour. It always did that when she was worried. She was really worried for Bill. 

" Fine, Quaker." she heard Bill mutter behind her as Hazel slowly walked over to the fuming man. 

" What's that guy's problem?" John asked Malarkey as Hazel glanced towards him.

" Gonorrhea." Malarkey muttered stepping over a dead body. Hazel gulped as she glanced at it.

" Really?" John asked. 

" His name, dummy, Guarnere, Gonorrhea, get it?" Malarkey said with a bland tone.

" So besides having a shitty name, what's his problem?" John egged on. 

" None of you fucking business, cowboy." Guarnere said looking up from the ground toward John.

" Alright, let's move out." Lip called to the group. 

" Sir." each member called in agreement.

" Quietly." Lip said again as Winters watched each man and woman go by. 

And it remained quiet. 


	33. the assembly area

" Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it."

_\- Helen Keller_

✰✰✰

The walk continued for a while, into the early hours of morning as the sun slowly rose into the sky. Hazel watched as the sky turned from dark black and blues to oranges, yellows and reds, making the clouds appear and a dark blue turn light, the stars slowly twinkling away. Birds fluttered every so often, crickets continued to chirp next to lakes and swamps and within trees, and the air slowly became warmer. They were quiet moving across the land as Hazel's thoughts wandered. Here they were early on the morning of June 6th, the sun slowly making an appearance on the horizon and the sky like a painting from God saying that they've survived another day. 

Hazel stopped, the hot, sticky air of the early morning hitting her, as she glanced towards the slowly rising sun which painted a golden hue across the entirety of Normandy, and the green trees and bushes and marshes. Hazel slowly held up a hand against the sun, watching as the light moved across it, darkening her hand, like it were a shadow. Hazel then moved her hand to the side and looked towards the yellow sun. She moved her hand back, and the light pushed bright around her hand. She smiled. Hazel dropped her hand in wonder, eyes curious and gentle as she bit her lip. 

Her weary mind went to Catherine and Lizzie first, her worry for both of the strong women, overwhelming. Hazel turned away from the sun and glanced towards the group of men she'd managed to meet up with slowly moving past her. Hazel sighed to herself and turned moving again beside Joe Toye.

" You ok, kid?" Joe asked her as she glanced up at him from under the brim of her helmet. He reached forward to push it up from her eyes and she smiled softly. 

" I hope everyone's ok." Hazel said with a nod. Joe watched her and a soft smile spread on his face. 

Joe Toye had always loved the tiny sniper, just like many of the other guys because, for him at least, she brought a level of war that he felt no one else could bring. And that was the emotional human aspect. She kept the feeling alive in a way, so that no one would fall into a dark, deep hole, shut off from everyone. She kept the emotional aspect, which war tended to push away, alive. And she cared about everyone, no matter who they were; many men wished they could be the same way.

" Me too," Joe said, " but it's Toccoa guys and 2 Viragos. I'd say they're in good hands." Hazel smiled wide and nodded. They definitely would be in good hands. 

" How was your jump?" Joe asked her, as they moved through the slushy marsh, which seemingly, the Germans had flooded, anticipating some sort of invasion.

" Ok," Hazel said, " after I landed, I was on the run for a bit before I found anyone else." 

" Yeah, that was me before I found Malark wandering around." Joe said, " Could hear him a mile away." Hazel snickered and glanced back towards the red-head who walked beside Popeye, the two talking quietly together.

" Bill ok?" Hazel asked softly. Joe glanced at her and then towards Bill who was walking in front of the two 82nd boys in front of them. 

" He'll be fine," Joe said, " he just got some news from his family. I'm sure if you talk to him, he'll tell you." Hazel nodded, glancing up towards Bill again, biting her lip. 

As they walked, Joe began humming the tune to _I'll Be Seeing You_ by Billie Holiday, and it made Hazel smile a bit, as the two moved through the marsh together. Hazel glanced up towards Winters and Lip who spoke quietly to each other showing each other the map every so often. 

Hazel bit her lip again, it was growing sore. She brought up her hand and then pulled it down. She did it too often now when the worry was too overwhelming to do anything else. The sun was beginning to peak up again through the Normandy landscape, and it was growing warmer, Hazel could feel it. The gear she wore was heavy and the sniper was sweaty in her grip again. She thought back to the railroad and the horses. She hadn't shot a single bullet, but hours earlier she had murdered a man at her own hand, with a knife. She shut her eyes, pushing that thought from her mind. 

The blood on her hands, even when washed away, would remain there for much longer than a war.

" Did you see him? He just sat there." Hazel heard Bill said from a little in front of her. Joe had begun walking along side the unnaturally quiet and reserved man, who had gone against WInters' orders.

" He didn't have a weapon." Joe answered. " What's he gonna do, shout at 'em?"

" Shouts at me for killing Krauts." Bill muttered, brushing a bug from his face. 

" He just wanted you to wait for his command." Joe argued back gently.

" Joe, he don't even drink." Bill argued back. Hazel wanted to talk to Bill, like Joe had suggested, but trauma, even from whatever had gotten Bill so upset and irate, took time to heal from. Hazel would talk to him when he calmed down, she didn't want to possibly anger him more. Hazel sighed and looked toward the new guy, John Hall. She smiled at him as she stopped and let him walk up beside her. Hall liked her smile. 

" Are you the sniper that everyone talks about?" he asked her and she nodded with a tiny smile.

" It's not really a sniper, traditionally, more of a rifle with a scope, but that's how my position is classified." she said with a smile.

" That's so cool." he said and then looked at her weapon.

" What type is it?" he asked her.

" Remington, with a Redfield scope." she explained to him. He smiled, fascinated. The two continued talking quietly as the members of Easy and their new arrivals walked slowly through the swamp toward their objective, the sun rising, and bringing the morning, more sweat, and a new day upon them. 

They moved into the covers of trees, the temperature slightly cooler now, out and away from the blistering June sun. The forest was eerie in a way. It wasn't super thick, but there were many times when Hazel glanced around that she thought she saw someone standing by a tree, in a German uniform, with bright green eyes. She forced herself to look away and keep moving, as she would shake her head a bit. 

The memory was antagonizing and persistent. 

The group came upon an older looking farm house in a tiny clearing, which looked thoroughly destroyed as well as some dead bodies from either side, and a few dead cows as well. Winters and Lip halted the group from continuing their move forward and Hazel slowly bent down on the ground, holding the rifle close to herself in her arms.

" Lipton, Wynn." Winters said turning back and looking towards the group, moving his hand forward to send the two ahead. The two hurried forward, crouched and cautious as they approached the site. Hazel couldn't help but let her eyes stay on the sight of the paratrooper who had not made it to the ground and had felt his last touches of the Earth before getting on the C-47 back in England. He probably thought he was going to do something great, but he died before he could. He didn't even get a chance to feel what France was like as that tree caught him and tangled him up. 

Lipton and Wynn turned and waved over the group of soldiers that waited. Winters turned and glanced back at the group and moved them forward slowly toward the rest of the barn. As they neared, Hazel glanced at the dead paratrooper before continuing to walk forward closer to Popeye. She couldn't dwell on it any longer. They were going to lose people and that was the harsh reality of war. So, Hazel walled up that part of her mind and shoved it away. It was quiet as they all moved around, looking for supplies and trying to ignore the sight of the dead bodies.

" Anybody need supplies or ammo, now's the time to get it." Lip said looking out toward the group. Lip watched as Hazel slowly sat down on a barrel and seemed to stop, taking everything in for the time being. It was an odd sight. But he didn't go to say a thing to the girl. He let her be. 

" Hey, I promised my kid brother I'd fetch him back a Luger." Hazel heard Malarkey say bringing her out of the trance she felt she were caught in for a moment.

" So I got first dibs, ok?" Malarkey said as he yanked off his helmet and began moving through the dead German's supplies. " Check that one." Malarkey pointed Hall in the direction of another. Then all the sudden, the world shook fiercely and the sound of planes soaring quickly and loudly overhead filled their ears, making everyone hold their head and drop quickly like a sack of potatoes to the ground. Plane after plane was heard as Hazel peered up towards the sky.

It was the Navy, it had to be, making the landings.

" It's the Navy." Lip said, standing up and placing his helmet on his head quickly, as a signal for everyone else to do the same.

" The landings have started, let's go." Winters said, his eyes still focusing on the group.

" Let's move it out." Lip called.

" Right on time." Hall said glancing at his watch as Hazel made her way over to Joe's side. 

" Yeah, tell that to him, cowboy." Bill said smartly, pointing to the dead Kraut.

" My name's Hall." Hall said back, in a sense of completely giving up at this point. 

" That so?" Bill said and Hazel watched earnestly.

" Let's move out." Winters said, hearing the escalating tension growing.

" You just gotta learn to return his fire is all." Malarkey said turning to Hall, as Winters watched from afar.

" You just gotta realize it ain't about you." Joe said walking past the group, seemingly knowing exactly why Bill was acting the way he was. 

" He just heard his brother-"

" Malarkey, shut your yap." spat Bill moving past Hall and Malarkey as Hazel moved to Hall's other side and watched sympathetically as Bill moved quickly behind Lip. 

" His brother got it at Cassino. Found out before we jumped." Malarkey said to Hall and Hazel's eyes widened.

" Monte Cassino?" she managed out. Malarkey nodded sadly, and she glanced back in time to see Winters watching the trio with listening ears. That's why when she'd been crying he had looked upset as well. Her heart sank to a pit inside her chest suddenly and she had to force the tears that wanted to well in her eyes back down again. 

She admired Bill a lot. He'd been suffering, but he had made sure she was okay first. 

That was true strength. 

The sky became cloudy, the sun hiding yet again, as a slightly cool breeze washed over them, coming from the sea. Hazel welcomed it. The group eventually made it's way towards the assembly area. They could tell it was the assembly area for it was filled with people along the road, that was muddy and showed footprints of people having walked all over it and captured Germans on either side.

" Morning, sir." said the paratrooper holding the Germans and seeing Winters, " Battalion sure will be happy to see you guys." 

" Where?" Winters asked.

" At the farm, sir." the paratrooper said and Winters nodded, exhaustedly. Hazel walked more to the side as she heard the group of men begin calling out to the group of Germans on the side of the road. She couldn't fathom a thing like that right now so she kept walking. Plus exhaustion was slowly setting in on her and all she wanted was to sit down for a minute or two. 

Hazel slowly unclipped the bottom of her helmet and let the strap swing from side to side as she walked. She was annoyed, exhausted and completely brain-fried. The group began to move towards the mass of the 101st, that lay scattered around the large farm and the multiple barns. Her feet were caked in mud and as she walked, she slammed the boot to the ground a few times to rid them of the dry, crusted mud on them. The Germans had most definitely flooded the marshes, causing mud to build up and feet to be covered in it.

" Oh, Easy Company!" the group heard. The group turned and faces were filled with relief to see more members of Easy sitting on the edge with bright smiles on their faces. A smile blossomed on Hazel's face as she recognized Joe Liebgott immediately. 

" Joe!" she said excitedly as he neared her. A smile lit up his features as he immediately came upon the girl and wrapped his arms around her. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and hugged him so tight, she wasn't sure if he was still breathing or not. A hug, something so protective, was exactly what she needed. She had never wanted to hug someone as much as she did now, just to have someone's arms around her, holding her and securing her. She never knew what security a hug could provide.

" We're lucky we found you guys." she said quietly, as the two pulled back with smiles on their faces. Hazel watched his eyes, they were so gentle right now and welcoming, she couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. 

" We're glad you guys did find us." Liebgott said. Hazel smiled at him gently just as Popeye came over with Hall.

" Good to see you, Pop." Lieb said as he hugged the man and turned to Hall.

" And this here's Hall, Able Company." Popeye said.

" Known as Cowboy." someone else called over.

" You from Texas?" Liebgott asked him as he shook his hand slightly confused.

" Manhattan." Hall said. Lieb smiled. Suddenly an explosion shuttered off in the distance toward the general area of Utah beach and Hazel glanced towards it. That was where the objective Easy would be, what Easy would end up having to take over. It would the garrison. 

" How was your jump?" Liebgott asked her as he helped her take off some of the heavy gear that weighed her down and was drenched in sweat.

" Fine, I guess." she said pulling her helmet form her head and sweat immediately pouring down her face and her hair which was in braids falling down onto her shoulders. They were tiny braids, since Lieb had cut her hair, but they kept it out of her face. Lieb reached up and gently brushed a strand of sweaty hair from her forehead. She glanced up at Lieb and sighed.

" What's bothering you?" he asked her. Hazel bit her lip and glanced up at him.

" Is this your blood?" Joe asked, picking up her hand to look at it and hold it. 

" No, um, actually that's what's bothering me." Hazel whispered. Joe's eyes turned serious as he watched her. Hazel glanced at the other guys, all patting each other on the back and talking. Hazel looked away to her left and shut her eyes.

" Right after my jump, I had to kill someone." she whispered, her voice soft. Joe looked at her. 

" I've never felt more selfish, like I've had more guilt piled up inside my chest." she whispered, like it were a blow to her stomach. It hurt physically to think about it. Joe watched the woman, her complex mind, trying to make sense of it all. Visions rushed through her brain, and it made her heart race.

" Hey, hey, hey, it's ok," Joe said placing his hands on her shoulders, as she looked up shyly towards him, " don't worry about it all right now, ok? You needed to survive, you did what you had to. Alright? It's war." Hazel nodded, attempting to reassure herself that she had done that to live. 

It was war, Joe was right. 

And war was bloody, unforgiving and gruesome. 

Death was inevitable for many. 

But Hazel was also a human being.

And a human killing another human was sad, she couldn't ignore that. Hazel had emotions and even if war was brutal with them, she wouldn't let them be pushed away because the war said so. A human was allowed to feel pain and feel grief and feel emotions. 

Joe watched emotion swell in Hazel's eyes. He had always viewed Hazel as someone who portrayed the innocence that the war couldn't take from anyone. But standing here now, it seemed that innocence was all but washed away. He hoped some of it was still there. Hazel looked at him, looking so sad, like a puppy who had just gotten her bone taken away. Joe offered a small smile.

" C'mere." he said as he opened his arms again to bring her into a hug. Hazel wrapped her arms tightly around his chest and hugged him close, shutting her eyes and focusing on the soft pulse of his heart. Hazel ached for human touch, just the feeling of life, that she was still alive, because it reminded her that she was still living. Joe gently rubbed her back, soothing her trembling body as images flashed through her head like some cinematic movie. Except it was the tragedy of real life.

" Hey, any of you guys know where 'Easy Company' is?" a voice called out. Joe pulled back from Hazel and looked down at her with a small smile. She nodded. 

" Thanks, Joe." she said softly, her eyes still having hints of evident sadness within them. Joe nodded, making a promise to himself, to keep that light of hope and innocence in her eyes. She felt mentally better, and for now, she felt ready for a fight.

" You seen Lieutenant Meehan?" he called out again moving through the crowd. Joe glanced sharply over his shoulder. 

" No, not yet." Buck said as the man calling for Easy appeared.

" Well, Major Strayer wants Easy Company's CO up front." the man said coming up to Winters and Buck. 

" Well, I guess that means you, Dick." Buck said with a nod.

" C'mon." the man said turning and Winters got up to follow.

" Sonofabitch." muttered Buck as another explosion rattled off towards the area of Utah Beach.

Hazel slowly had sat down against the cool ground of the French soil, under the shade of trees, feeling a bit light headed. 

" You should drink some of this water." a voice said and Hazel looked up to see Bill crouching in front of her. She watched him and gently took the canteen from his hands.

" Thanks, Bill." Hazel whispered. Bill nodded to her and smiled. Bill glanced up at Liebgott who stood beside her and then back at her.

" You feeling ok?" Bill asked her.

" I should be asking you that." Hazel said softly and Bill watched her gently. 

" I'm doing ok, but I'm more worried about you, kid." Bill said with a forced smile. They were both going through their own painful family related things and they knew that.

" You heard if Catherine or Lizzie has shown up?" Hazel asked him. Bill glanced at his boot and then her again. 

" I haven't," Bill said, " but don't worry, they're both strong, and can beat those Kraut asses straight into the ground, both of 'em. You know that. They'll show up soon." Hazel softly smiled with a nod.

" Yeah," Hazel said with a nod; she believed him. 

" Keep drinking," Bill said as he stood and then pointed to Joe, " you make sure she keeps drinking, Lieb."

" Yeah, yeah," Joe said with a lull of his head. Bill smiled and nodded to the two before turning and heading away back towards where Buck was currently sitting. Joe slid down beside her and glanced towards her. 

" You feel sick?" Joe asked her. Bill had been one of the ones to arrive with Hazel, he figured the worst.

" Just dehydrated, but I'll be fine. I just need to drink." Hazel promised him as she continued taking small sips to soothe her softly pounding head. Joe nodded. 

" You know, Joe." she said quietly, staring up at the blue sky and the fluffy clouds of June 6th.

" What?"

" The man I killed, on his coat, there was a tiny white flower upon his collar." Hazel said, " What do you suppose it means?" Joe glanced at her.

" Edelweiss." Joe said. Hazel glanced towards him. 

" Marks of a true soldier, you get 'em high up in the German and Austrian Alps." Joe confirmed with a nod, " My dad told me that one." Hazel sighed softly. A true soldier. She figured that sort of thing meant a lot to a German soldier. The guilt crept up on her again and she hated it.

" I feel so guilty." Hazel whispered. 

" Hey, " Joe said, placing a hand on her knee and gently rubbing it, " what happened, it, well, it happened." She smiled softly at him and nodded. 

But she knew it would rest in the pit of her stomach for much longer than she intended. But she was just that way, it was something she had learned to accept when she cared so deeply about things.

Winters eventually found his way back to the group and got them up and moving, with orders from Battalion and from Strayer. Hazel adjusted her helmet on her head as the group headed over to the barn, as she gripped the sniper tightly in her hands. 

The group encircled Winters, Hazel standing next to Toye and Liebgott, smaller than the both of them, and staring intensely at the map that Winters had out in front of them. Her face paint was beginning to get that sweaty itchy feeling everywhere and her eyes were beginning to feel the exhaustion, as Winters spoke.

She couldn't help but watch the Lieutenant from Dog, Speirs, slowly walk in, smoking a cigarette, and meeting her own eyes. She quickly looked down towards the map again focusing again on Winters' voice, yet noticing Speirs slowly walk over and stand a little behind the group. Speirs was mysterious, Hazel had always thought that, mainly because he didn't seem to care about the Virago women joining the 506th, if anything, Catherine had said he was the most compliant Lieutenant out of the 9 companies. Speirs stood with a sharp and fine-tuned eye upon the map, the helmet on his head covered his eyes a bit, and he moved the cigarette on and off his lip every so often. Hazel glanced back at the map WInters had out in front of them.

" The 88s we've been hearing, have been spotted in a field, down the road aways." Winters said, pointing to a few spots on the map. 

" Major Strayer wants us to take 'em out." Winters said and Hazel's eyes traveled down the length of the map again. Winters pulled a piece of paper in front of him, and then pulled out a pencil and began drawing, two lines that touched at the tip and ran North and East.

" There are two guns that we know, firing on Utah Beach," Winters said as he drew 2 x's at the places he initially indicated. " And plan on a third and a fourth, here and here." Winters looked up towards the group, Buck and Lip on each of his sides looking at the young group of soldiers in between, ready for the first battle of war that they'd ever be engaged in. 

" The Germans are in the trenches, with access to the entire battery, and with machine-gun cover in the rear." Winters stated, drawing lines down North and East again, " We'll establish a base of fire and move under it hard and fast with two squads of three."

" How many Krauts they think we're facing?" Bill asked and Hazel looked over at him sharply. Winters glanced at him and then looked at Hazel.

" No idea." he said. 

" No idea?" Bill said and then made a face, looking over at Toye.

" We'll take some TNT along with us, to spike the guns. Lipton," Winters glanced at the man to his left, " Your responsibility." 

" Yes, sir." Lipton answered with a firm nod. 

" Liebgott, you'll take the first machine-gun with Petty a gunner." Winters said. " Plesha, Hendrix, you take the other."

" Who does that leave?" Winters asked, as Hazel raised her hand slowly as well as a few others, and then met Speirs' eyes again seeing him again in the distant background listening in. 

" Compton, Malarkey, Toye, Guarnere, Parker." Winters said, missing Hall raise his hand. Hazel sympathetically glanced at him.

" Ok." Winters said. 

" Parker, I'm going to send you up into the trees for cover above, and sniping in the trees. Strayer said there's a bag of sniper equipment if you'd need it, as well as ammo. Toye will be there to assist you in making sure you are up and then down the tree. Whatever you can do, do it. You'll then move forward into the first gun once it is captured." Winters said and Toye nodded with a smile looking over at the girl who nodded with a smile.

" Yes, sir." the two said together. 

" Everyone else, we'll be making the main assault." Winters stated, " Understood?"

" Yes, sir." the group answered. 

" Alright, let's pack it up." Winters said giving a smile to Hazel and she smiled back from under the face paint and helmet. Everyone grabbed their stuff, and began heading out.

" Shouldn't he be outside with the other Able Company guys?" she heard Toye ask as she adjusted her helmet atop her head. 

" See ya around, Hall." Bill said as the two left. Hazel turned and watched Joe and Bill leave. She could understand where they were coming through. They were two tough guys who loved the company with all their hearts and they didn't want change or other people interfering with their company. She sent a smile to Hall in comfort for him. Winters nodded to Hall simply and then turned and walked away.

" Lipton, when you've seen we've captured the first gun, I want you and your TNT as fast as possible." Winters said coming out, as Hazel quickly loaded her sniper up with her new ammo, and slipped on the dark layer of sniping equipment the army provided her with. 

" Yes, sir." Lipton said.

" Okay, just weapons and ammo, drop everything else. Got any spare ammo in a pack or a musette bag, bring it along." Winters said walking away farther down the line. Hazel quickly applied the face paint to her face, without a mirror since one wasn't available, before trying to grab leaves and stuffing it on her dark green gear. 

" Compton, second squad." Winters called moving past with his weapon fully loaded.

" Yes, sir." Buck called enthusiastically loading his own weapon. 

" Alright, you heard the word, let's move, let's move." Lip called to the group, and Hazel nodded moving with her dark gear. 

Covered in her dark gear, with her rifle in hand, her precise scope, zeroed in to its highest magnification, as well as the adrenaline that pumped through her veins, ready for the battle, heightened the want to finally put training to use. 

Her emotions were put on the back burner, war was the only thing in front of her now. 


	34. brecourt manor

" Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the 'hero' within us is revealed."

_\- Bob Riley_

✰✰✰

Hazel stayed close to Toye, crouching low behind him as they moved around a small farm with vineyards and bushes everywhere. The group moved in two different levels up both sides of orchard area and Hazel moved with rapid pace, her eyes narrowed in silent death, looking for the perfect tree to climb up and make the first kill. 

Her emotions had exhausted her first few hours of combat and she hated that it had done what it did to her, but it was in the past now. The light switch had been flipped, and the deathly motives that Hazel now pursued were ready to be put to use. She had trained for over 2 years for this moment, to finally put a dent in the war. 

Hazel looked across the way and nodded to Bill who signaled to Winters that she'd found the tree, and he nodded back to her. The tree was not the tallest or the smallest tree, but it sat in the perfect position for seemingly clear shots of Kraut heads. Hazel signaled to Toye in front of her and directed him to the tree. As Lipton and Winters went and watched from a broken down car, Toye gave her a foot up to a branch, before passing up her sniper.

" Thanks." she whispered, and he nodded, mouthing a quick good luck before hurrying off. As she slowly climbed up the tree, she heard distant explosions going off. She cursed at her tiny self as she pushed up branch after branch to the mid range. 

The rifle hung off her shoulder as she pulled her body up with strength, tree after tree branch, determined to remain as close to the top as possible, but still within range of shooting. She glanced down after she got about half way up, and noticed the MG-42s that each gun came equipped with on the side, and the multitude of Krauts there as well.

" Each gun has about 2 MG-42s set up." Hazel whispered to herself, " 2 guys on the MG, 2 bullets. 2 MGs per gun, 4 bullets per gun, 16 bullets total, if needed." The process came out in a hushed whisper past her lips, calculating each and every motive she were to end up taking. Hazel pushed up from a branch, to another, that gave for a perfect area to lay against and set up the sniper perfectly, giving a clear view of any man that got in her way. 

Hazel reached forward and gave the sniper a few clicks into focus. Her eye caught a German on the MG-42 at the first gun. With one shot, she could lodge a bullet into the main artery in his neck and kill him before he even thought of calling out to the man firing the weapon. 

Her attitude had drastically changed from that morning when she killed the German with the bright green eyes. But it was the way a soldier were to operate. Some were effected by that first kill; other merely said it were an obstacle in the way. Hazel focused on what she had to do and it was capture the guns, even if death were involved. It was war and she was ready for it. Suddenly, one of the guns fired toward Utah beach, and Hazel narrowed her blue eyes, leaning back from the sniper in her grasp. 

" There's no way those are 88s." she whispered to herself. Her eyes found Winters down below and a bit in front of her. He found her in the trees, by simply her bright eyes and gave her a nod. She nodded back in readiness. Winters moved his hand and she automatically heard the machine-gun start firing. 

The Germans called out in protest suddenly, ensuing a power struggle on their side as the attempted to get their gun set. Hazel licked her lips and adjusted her scope. She squinted her eyes and focused on a German right in her line of sight. Her eye followed him through the scope as he reached forward to get more ammo into the MG-42.

" By God, rule me and guide me, ever this day, be at my side, to light and to guard." she whispered, as her finger lay against the trigger. A loud crackling shot wrapped out of the gun and struck the German right in the head. 

Where was her silencer?

" Shit." she muttered. She glanced around for the silencer, but figured it had possibly even been lost after the chaos of getting everything together and climbing up the tree. So, risking it, she got back on the sniper, and took careful shots at unsuspecting Germans one after the other, tiny prayers leaving her lips with each shot she took.

\----

" Gene, we have to stop." Catherine groaned out as she began to feel light headed and sick slightly. Gene carefully found a group of trees gathered in a forest area, and gently helped her lay down against a tree, un-looping her arm from over his shoulder. 

" How are you feeling?" he asked her, noticing cold sweat appear on her forehead suddenly. He reached up and quickly wiped it from her brow and she sucked down a shaky gulp.

" If I can't even move without being in pain, how am I going to make it to the assembly area?" Catherine managed out through a shaky voice. Fear. It was fear settling into her bones. She was in the middle of France, injured and praying she wouldn't lose anymore blood. 

" McCown, just keep your eyes open." he said with a nod, attempting to pull more morphine out. Catherine's hand stopped him suddenly.

" Save it." she whispered.

" But you're in pain." he said quietly.

" I'm fine." she said, and let out a tiny cry at the pain that shot through her arm. 

" I'm not leaving you." Gene said quickly, with a firm look in his eyes. Catherine looked down at her arm and bit her lip. She met Gene's determined eyes. This was the most they had even talked to each other, and he was telling her that he wouldn't leave her behind. But he was also a medic, a medic who cared.

" I feel sick," she whimpered out suddenly, and before either could react, Catherine was launching herself to the side and throwing up. She wasn't sure if it was from the fear that she had allowed to be riled up inside her stomach, or if it were the dehydration, or lack of food in her stomach from the pill, but she knew she felt terrible. Gene was there though, he'd dealt with sick members of Easy, like back in Toccoa when they were all spewing their guts up during the run up Currahee on a full stomach of army noodles and ketchup. 

When Catherine finished, she leaned back, her arm shocking her with pain, as her hand reached for it. Her face scrunched up in pain. Gene watched the woman, she was more concerned about the arm than the fact she had just thrown up.

" Catherine, you need to drink some water." Gene said to her. 

" I'm fine, Gene." she managed out through broken words.

" Lieutenant." Gene said sharply and Catherine met his eyes quickly. He was staring at her, his brown orbs not leaving her own. Catherine didn't like other people taking care of her. She could take care of herself. But with the look in Gene's eye she figured she'd have to let him do his job. 

" You need to drink some water." Gene repeated to her and she slowly nodded, biting back her lip.

" Ok," she said quietly nodding and sitting up, " ok." Gene nodded to her and then reached to the canteen by his side and pulled it from its flap. He slowly unscrew the top and then brought it near Catherine's lips. She stared at him. He nodded. 

Gene slowly tipped it forward and let her drink the water in tiny, gradual sips. He knew exactly when to bring it from her lips to allow her to drink the water and he knew when to start again. It was quiet as they sat there in the quiet of the morning. 

By now, the assault on the garrison would've begun, but she didn't know who was performing it, depending on who had gotten to the assembly point. It could be Winters, Meehan, Harry, Nixon, Lip, any of them could've lead it as well as any of the NCOs, along with any of the other guys or women who had shown up as well. She thought of little Hazel and wondered if she'd made it to the assembly point. She thought of Lizzie, wondering if she'd already gotten the first call for a medic yet. Catherine watched as Gene slowly pulled down the canteen from her face.

" You're dehydrated." Gene told her, " But we don't want you throwing up again." Catherine watched him with cautious eyes and nodded. Her shoulder was throbbing still in the quiet morning, and the slight sickness feeling in the pit of her stomach had yet to drop away. Catherine watched as he slowly slid the canteen back into the flap where medic canteens usually went and then proceeded to adjust his ODs a bit before turning his attention back to her. 

" How're you feeling?" he asked, and Catherine noticed his eyes on her throbbing shoulder.

" Not to well." she said and her voice broke at the end. But when Gene looked her way quickly she averted her gaze. She was so ungodly happy with herself in this moment. Letting down her guard, remaining weak, especially in front of a medic like Gene, and not getting her act together. It was D-day and her she was injured and crippled, all from a stupid parachute malfunction. 

" I should change your bandage, your bleeding through again." Gene said and Catherine glanced over in the morning light and saw in fact blood coming through.

" Go ahead." she said, in a grimace as she adjusted herself a bit. Gene slowly crouched forward, and began unwrapping the bandage around her shoulder. Catherine looked away in pain as Gene slowly unwrapped each part of it before removing the dirtied bandage. He prodded her shoulder a bit before beginning to wrap a clean bandage. Catherine hissed and grimaced and groaned each time Gene gave a tight tug on the bandage but she bit back her lip and shut her eyes, until she tasted blood. Finally Gene finished it off before glancing at Catherine. 

" We gotta get you moving." Gene said as Catherine nodded. They'd taken more stops than they probably needed but Catherine got light-headed and dizzy and her shoulder injury was making her hand and arm numb. Catherine nodded, as Gene stepped over her and held out his hand for her to take. She grasped it, as he placed another hand on her back to stand her up. She let out a pained groan as she finally got to her feet and let out a quiet sigh.

" You need a minute?" Gene asked her.

" No, let's go, thank you." Catherine said and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as they began walking again through the French forest, grasping onto him to keep her balance as they moved in the direction of where the most frequent amount of bombs rang out. 

\----

Loud shouting in German continued to ring out in panicked strings, as the MG-42 continued to fire off, and the others continued firing their M1's and Thompsons. The Germans had yet to detect the sniper in the trees hanging overhead like a cat watching its prey. 

Hazel looked over and watched as Ranney and Lip positioned themselves in smaller trees, farther away towards the first gun, that were easy and accessible. Hazel continued firing the single, ear-piercing shots, one after another, taking out German after German. Each kill hit the German right through their helmet and into the side of their face, making them die instantly. 

And each shot was answered with a tiny prayer from Hazel's lips. 

Lip and Ranney started firing their weapons and immediately got attention drawn to them, but Hazel was quick to aid. She slowly adjusted her scope, increasing visibility in depth, and laying comfortably on her chest as she sucked in a breath. She took a quick shot, and another, before two of the ones closer to her were dead. Then she continued, her process of sitting and waiting for the next prey to come upon her.

A machine gunner opened up on Winters, Liebgott and Plesha, and immediately Hazel turned and took aim at the machine gunner, shooting him dead and receiving a thankful look from Winters. To really set off the finishing touch, the Germans fully exploded afterwards thanks to Buck, Malarkey and Bill, who threw grenades in to finish them off. The three ran forward and Hazel watched as they jumped straight down into the German trench line.

" Let's go! Let's go!" Winters called. Hazel watched as the men quickly got to their feet.

" Follow me!" the remaining soldiers who would assist in the main attack followed diligently. The group of soldiers ran forward, preparing for the main assault on the 88s, that she suspected were 105s. Hazel would join in a minute; she had a clear shot of the second gun, and opted to take each shot where she could. Hazel lined up her scope, following a frantic German who was loading more ammo into the 105.

" Guide me lord, give me strength, guide me through light and guard me through." she whispered softly, licking her lips, before cracking off a single shot that killed the man attempting to load up the weapon. She watched through her scope as the ammo fell to the ground, and spilled. 

The other Germans weren't even watching. 

Hazel took the opportunity, to point her aim at the ammo, the 3 big pieces laying out in the open on the ground. If she set it off, those Germans would die. Hazel's finger placed on the trigger, and she cracked out a shot on the 1st large piece of ammo. It blew up, the 2 others following like a chain reaction. She watched Germans in the 2nd gun, fall to the side, crying out, pointing at each other, in a complete mess. 

Chaos brought that on. 

Hazel, satisfied that the men had made it to the main area of the 1st gun and the 2nd was already in dismay, slowly dropped down branch after branch to the ground, before letting her boots softly hit the Earth. She then trekked after them, without the mascaraed of bombs and explosions, towards another tree, that was closer. Her feet brought her through the orchard again, before she pushed through the cover of the bushes to the other side again, to the war. An explosion went off right beside her and she dropped to the ground quickly. She looked up and saw Popeye crawling forward.

" Pop?" Hazel called.

" They shot me in my ass!" Popeye yelled back.

" Here, I'll cover you." Hazel said, as she moved quickly in front of where Popeye had to crawl to insure his safety back behind the lines. Hazel pulled up her gun, before satisfied knowing Popeye was in coverage again. She continued to crawl forward before making it to the pieces of wood that eventually dropped into the trench than ran between the 4, anticipated guns. She collapsed like a sack of potatoes on the cold, soil ground, her weapon clattering after her, but she forced herself to stand up, remaining crouched behind the trench coverage. Once Hazel got her footage again, a frantic scream overwhelmed her ears. 

" Winters, Parker, 1:00!" Buck yelled, pulling out a grenade. Hazel looked over in horror, as the grenade bounced in his hands and to the ground right by Buck's feet.

" Grenade!" he called out, and Hazel had to turn and attempt to get herself over the ledge. Hazel launched the rifle over and then pulled herself up, before rolling straight into Winters with a groan.

" Toye! Let's go! Get out of there!" Buck managed to yell out, as everyone else made it over in time, except Joe.

" Toye!" Buck yelled. 

" Joe!" Winters called.

" Joe!" Hazel called, as she flipped inside and saw the man inside, lying on his back in the dirt, with debris sprinkled on top of him. Buck quickly moved over to him as Hazel scrambled over as well.

" Jesus Christ." muttered Joe, eyes screwed shut as he grasped for something. He found Hazel's hand.

" Fucking twice." Joe said, as he slowly moved around with Buck's help. Twice? She must've missed the first. Buck shoved the helmet on Joe's head and got him moving again as Hazel moved a bit to get a new position for sniping as to not draw attention to herself and former position. The first gun had to be detonated and it seemed Bill and Malarkey were making some sort of attempt at that as she scurried over and heard an angry Jesus Christ come from Bill's mouth, a common phrase he liked to throw around by this point. 

" Lorraine, through, go!" Bill yelled to the man sending him off somewhere.

" Malark!" Bill called and pointed over towards the side of the 1st gun that would provide some coverage. Hazel fell to the ground behind the gun, where a small opening was available for firing range. She stayed low to the ground, staying quiet and alert, her gun aimed straight towards the Germans across the way, as Bill and Malarkey crashed down on the side, where some coverage was given. 

" I think one of those dead Krauts has a luger." Malarkey said as he quickly attempted to load his weapon. Hazel quirked a brow, still peering into the scope and quickly firing off a deadly shot, killing the German across the way, aided by a small prayer.

" So what?" Bill called. 

" Keep your head low, Petty!" the trio suddenly heard a Liebgott's voice arrived in their ears. 

" C'mon move it!"

" Have a little suppressing fire, why don't you!" Liebgott yelled as he slammed nearby her, barely seeing the girl there. 

" Jesus Christ!" Petty yelled landing next to Liebgott with the machine gun. Hazel took off another perfectly calculated shot and that's when Liebgott looked over and noticed the girl. Then they were distracted as a figure ran out into the fire. It was Malarkey. Hazel's heart plummeted as she watched him.

" Malarkey!" Bill yelled. 

" Now you stop firing?" Liebgott called, " Beautiful." Hazel, smooshed between Liebgott and Bill, finally pulled from her scope and pushed the cap up from her eyes and narrowed them seeing Malarkey's figure fumbling around out in the open.

" Christ, they must think he's a medic or something." Petty called. 

" He's gonna need a goddamn medic!" Bill called as Liebgott fumbled next to her a bit to stand with his own M-1.

" Malarkey!" Liebgott yelled to the man who lay still out there. Hazel peered out again and her heart began pounding. Was he still alive? Suddenly the firing picked up and so did Malarkey's senses as he stood and turned making a beeline back to the first gun, slipping and sliding and falling, tripping over his own feet. 

" Get low!" Bill yelled, as the bullets missed Malarkey narrowly.

" What the hell are you doin', c'mon!" Bill called again, as Malarkey stumbled about and pushed himself back to his feet. Finally Malarkey jumped back into the chaotic gun set up, to the screaming trio and the silent sniper, and crashed against the dirt. 

" Forgot your friggin' luger?" Bill snapped at Malarkey who lay panting under fire behind him.

" If you want I should go get it for you, you stupid mick?" Bill yelled, going back to shooting. 

" Where's Lipton with that TNT?" Winters voice asked suddenly appearing.

" Don't know, sir!" Bill called back reaching for another magazine. Hazel pulled up her gun again, and slowly clicked her scope a few times, before finding a German head. 

" Guide me lord to light, guide me through strength, guide me and guard me." she whispered, before pulling the trigger. The German was dead instantly. Hazel pushed to her side, as she pulled ammo from her belt and reloaded quickly, pushing each piece of ammo in, one after the other, before pulling the bolt and locking the ammo into place immediately after. All the sudden, Hester and Hall appeared, slamming across the other side from Bill and Malarkey.

" Hiya, cowboy!" Bill called to the younger soldier.

" Shut your fucking guinea trap, Gonorrhea." Hall said back and Hazel chuckled at the comment, her scope out of focus for a moment.

" He's alright that kid." Bill said to Malarkey.

" Jesus, you got a whole Kraut platoon out there." Hester called out, just frozen as he stared out in front of him.

" Probably more, Captain." Winters said back.

" You need help?" Hester called back as Hazel shot her weapon, a loud crack echoing out over the field, making Hall looked toward her in surprise seeing that girl was even there. He hadn't noticed. She blended in so well, with her camouflage that covered herself.

" I need ammo, sir, lots of it!" Winters called back, glancing towards the girl who was visibly sweating and slowly running out of ammo as well from what he could tell. 

" And TNT!" Winters called. Hall had a realization moment, as he grabbed for his bag.

" I've got TNT, sir!" Hall yelled. 

" Good job, private!" Winters yelled. Winters signaled to him to move behind the main gun. Winters and Hall scrambled to get the TNT in the main gun, as Liebgott moved down to lie next to Hazel.

" Hall, ready!" Winters called.

" Sir, I don't have any way to set it off, sir!" Hall yelled, as Winters moved around the base of the gun in the chaos towards Hall. Hazel turned slightly from her dead set site position and watched as the two searched frantically for something to set it off. Winters found something to detonate it with and yanked it from a metal box to shove it up into the main gun.

" Fire in the hole!" Winters yelled and Hazel's eyes widened. Liebgott moved himself to protect the girl from the side of the blast and she squeezed her eyes shut as the explosions blew up the gun. She slowly opened her eyes, as Liebgott pealed away from her, pushing his helmet from his eyes. Hazel's eyes went to the smoking barrel of the gun. 

" Plesha, covering fire!" Winters called to the man nearby. " Third gun, here! Parker, you stay on those Germans."

" Lorraine, grab some more of those potato mashers and follow me!" Winters called, " Malarkey, Hall you two go!" Plesha's covering fire began quickly as Winters took off with Malarkey, Hall and Lorraine. She sent Hall a hopeful smile, before she turned back to the weapon. Hazel stayed focus on her goal, and stared back again through the scoop. She got in the zone quickly and began to scope out her next prey. She watched, pushing every other bit of noise out of her mind to focus on right now. She shot her weapon again as she heard the 2nd gun explode and the 3rd follow. 

" TNT! TNT!" a voice yelled, that of Lipton's. Hazel looked up with surprise.

" Don't need it!" Bill called back. 

" What?" Lip called back.

" Don't need it! Hall!" Bill called pointing to the already blown up gun. 

" Hall?" Lip yelled back, confused. " Where'd he come from?" Lip couldn't help but watched defeated at the gun. Hazel felt a bullet zip by her and she flipped back, out of her zone straight into Liebgott.

" You good?" Liebgott yelled. 

" Fine!" she yelled back, checking for a wound. Her voice came out choked and gravely and she had to cough a bit to get it through again to speaking level. She started choking on debris and dirt and gravel before getting it out of her throat. She flopped back onto her stomach and pulled her weapon up in front of her, and rested her cheek on the pad again. She looked through the scope again and zeroed in on her focus mode, and zoned in on another German. She shot the weapon, and continued to do so. As she reloaded, she realized how close she was to running out of ammo. 

She figured she'd put it to good use. 

She thanked Sergeant Coleman for the help he'd given her. 

She hadn't wasted a single bullet yet.

" Guide me through this God, guide me and guard me, through light and dark." she whispered, before another bullet left her weapon and found its home. The battle strained on, with a struggle on both sides of the battle, firing their weapons, discovering death, restocking with ammo from both of their lines. Hazel finally flopped to the side, out of breath. She'd been holding it for so long. She was out of ammo, she'd used it all up. Then she watched someone come running up from the trench, bags of ammo swinging in their hands. 

It was Lieutenant Speirs.

" Sniper!" Speirs called as he spotted her, " Ammo!" He came crashing in beside her and pushed more ammo into her grasp. She took it gratefully. 

Thank God for him; the chaotic lunatic Lieutenant that she appreciated.

" Thank you, sir!" Hazel called and he nodded before moving back through the trenches. Hazel loaded up her weapon, and got herself back in action. It must've been hours before Hazel finally began to hear Winters voice.

" Move out! Move out!" Winters yelled, " Move out."

" MGs first!" Winters called, " Fall back to your original positions!" Liebgott began to move from next to her and she felt WInters' hand on her shoulder.

" Move out, Hazel!" he called to her ear. Hazel quickly stood to her feet, and turned finding a path straight out of the trenches. She hurried back, following behind the MGs, back towards the barn and assembly area. The rest of the group was behind her, following diligently as the group left, with their completed duty behind them. The group arrived back through the main entrance of the assembly area. The group was basically a mess by that point. 

Hazel came stumbling into the area, light-headed and exhausted and hungry. They had done it though, the garrison had been taken. 

Over 3 hours of fighting and they had taken the garrison, exhausted, weary and out of ammo. But the garrison had been taken and supplies could arrive on Utah. 

And that was all that mattered in that moment.


	35. of a combat medic

" That was her magic, she could still see the sunset, even on those darkest days."

_\- atticus_

✰✰✰

Lizzie was sitting beside Shifty in the blistering midday heat from the sun, her neck growing sore as she was bent over, making her first K-ration since being here. Blonde hair hung in her face, as she bent over and she remained focused and alert. They were right next to a large field and Tab was currently standing and looking out toward it. They'd been going since they met up, searching for the assembly area, but they were blown so far off that it was over 12 kilometres away by this point. And by now with the garrison battle already over, they were probably on the road to Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont, the next town that they were to capture. Lizzie finally sat up from her K-ration, pressing a hand to the back of her neck and rubbing it as it grew sore. She had to stretch it a bit as she did so. 

" You ok, Lizzie?" Shifty asked her and she nodded.

" Yeah, I'm good." she said as she leaned back and sighed, picking up the K-ration, " Do you want a bite?" 

" No you keep it," Shifty said, " and drink water." Shifty had been the one on her for drinking water, for she was neglecting it, as she was staying on high alert and making sure that the boys erew the ones drinking water. Lizzie grinned at Shifty and nodded.

" Thanks Shifty, I will." she said, as she reached into her canteen and took a sip from it. She was dehydrated, she could feel it. But she didn't want to drink it in case Tab or Shifty needed it. She knew she needed water but her medic instincts usually remained high, and she knew Shifty and Tab would run out soon. She knew all the symptoms of dehydration as well, such as headache, hallucination, sun-sickness, things like that. 

" Well," Tab said and both Lizzie and Shifty glanced up towards Tab, " no sign of anyone else." He glanced back towards the two. Shifty was giving him a pointed look and Lizzie was raising a brow his way.

" I think we've figured that out, Tab." Lizzie said, " The drop must've been widespread if we haven't seen anyone for a few miles." 

" Yeah, well, still sucks." Tab complained as he walked over and took a seat in the little triangle. Lizzie offered a tiny smile.

" You need to eat," Lizzie offered, holding out her K-ration toward him.

" Isn't that your K-ration?" Tab asked her, noticing there weren't any others by her side except her medic satchel.

" Yeah, but it's fine, you need it more." Lizzie said. 

" No, Lizzie, keep it, it's yours." Tab said. Lizzie gave a pointed look.

" I'm only taking a bite because it is yours and you deserve it more. You are the medic, can't have you passing out on us." Tab told her and Lizzie snickered softly. 

" It's fine I promise, I need to make sure you two are kept up to speed, especially since we don't know when we'll be meeting up with the others." Lizzie explained as Tab took the K-ration and took a bit of food out and ate it.

" How can you remain so positive?" Tab asked her. Lizzie smirked to herself softly. 

" I guess it's the only thing I can do in situations like this." Lizzie said, " The unknown, yeah, it's scary, but just facing it, just knowing you don't know what's going to happen, it doesn't make it that scary anymore. You just accept it."

" Wise words of wisdom from Miss Elizabeth Elliot." Tab said with a nod as Lizzie smirked at him shaking her head. Lizzie glanced at Shifty who smiled at her softly. 

" My grandma taught me that one." Lizzie said with a nod, looking down at her hands. No one knew about her grandmother, not even the girls, because well, supposedly her grandmother was getting better, the treatments, they were working. Even if it wasn't always a guarantee.

" She's real into God and stuff, always says he'll save her from her sins and her misfortunes, things like that. She's a big believer in that." Lizzie said with a small smile. Shifty and Tab met each other's gaze, as they listened to Lizzie trail off. Lizzie wasn't one to grow entirely too close with others, maybe just a small conversation or two, but her actions spoke louder, especially as a combat medic. Her and Gene were the same way. Soft-spoken, but firm and commanding when you went against orders.

It was the medic way.

" She doing ok?" Tab asked leaning forward.

" Yeah," Lizzie said with a nod, forcing a smile on her face, guarding herself. She cursed that she even brought her grandmother up. It would lead to unwanted emotions and feelings that Lizzie thought she had left behind in America when she became prepared to fight in the war. She wore her heart on her sleeve and was fairly easy to read, but she was quieter about it, more so than other women. It seems Shifty Power and Floyd Talbert could pick up on that she was hiding something. She wasn't ready to say yet. 

" How about your families? They ok?" Lizzie asked. The two men met eyes again, but decided Lizzie got off the topic because it was too much for her.

" Doing well, I guess," Shifty said, " sent me some cards, a few photos." Shifty pulled out a tiny photo from his front pocket and showed Lizzie, who reached forward and took the tiny photograph in her hand. 

" That's mom." Shifty said and Lizzie softly smiled down at it. Tab thought she had a wise smile, years beyond her age.

" She's beautiful Shifty." Lizzie said, as she handed the photo back to him and he took it and tucked it away. Shifty smiled at her. 

" I got one of my dog back home." Tab said and Lizzie's eyes lit up.

" You have a dog?" Lizzie said as Tab pulled out the picture and showed it to her. It was a German Shepherd with the softest looking ears, tail wagging, as it seemed he were smiling with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. 

" Aw, Tab," Lizzie said.

" That's Bailey." Tab said and Lizzie's eyes turned soft. 

" He's adorable." Lizzie said handing him back the photo as Tab nodded with a smile.

" Once he gets the zoomies, though, game over." Tab said. 

" Zoomies?" Lizzie asked him.

" You know, they get really excited and started booking it around the house." Tab said as Shifty and Lizzie giggled. 

" He sounds so cute." Lizzie said as she brushed her hands off on her ODs.

" We should probably get moving." Tab said as he looked at the two.

" Yeah," Shifty said as he stood, " they're probably moving to Sainte-Marie-Du-Monte now." Lizzie slowly stood and pulled on her medic satchel as well as her helmet, carefully placing it on her head as she did so.

" Scoped out what looks like a road through the wheat over there a ways." Tab said as the trio began walking again through the marshy waste land. 

" Would've been nice if they didn't flood out these here fields." Shifty said as he stepped into a large puddle.

" Yeah, it would've," Lizzie agreed as she stepped around her own mud pit. They moved through the tall field of wheat, their footsteps quiet as they did so before they came out on the other side, the road. A muddy road, but a road. There were tire tracks, they were footprints. Everything. 

" Any of you got a map on you?" Tab said turning and Shifty was quick to start pulling his out. He handed it to Tab.

" If we follow this road, I'm sure we'll be heading along right to Coup-De-Ville." Tab said, " We won't make it in time to Sainte-Marie-Du-Monte." 

" Maybe we'll meet up with a few others along the way." Lizzie suggested, hopeful.

" Well, standing here and yapping about it won't get us there, so let's get moving." Tab said as he rolled up the map and handed it back to the sharpshooter. The trio moved along the road, their feet squishing into the wet mud as they walked, the sun baking them like cakes in an oven. 

" If only I was as positive as Elizabeth Elliot." Tab said as they continued down the road. The woman had pounds of medical equipment hanging off her and there was a smile on her face. Lizzie turned to Tab with a grin.

" It's all about your mindset, Floyd," Lizzie said as she huffed a bit, " sure, it sucks how far away we were dropped, but it doesn't mean we won't get there. Plenty of roads are all over this place and thousands of paratroopers were dropped. We're bound to meet up with someone soon." 

" Hopefully no one from the 5-0-deuce, I'm not in the mood to have to win back my confidence levels just yet." Tab said.

" Ah, the bar fight." Lizzie commented, a smirk on her face.

" Ah, yes, is right," Tab said, " you were there Shifty, I wasn't in the wrong exactly."

" Well," Shifty said, " you were the one trying to get a woman to dance when clearly her boyfriend was right next to her." 

" That was clearly a friend." Tab argued.

" A friend of a girl doesn't just, ya know, kiss her on the lips and call her his friend, right, Tab?" Lizzie called from in front of them.

" Ok, but ya know, _fun_ friends, c'mon Lizzie keep up." Tab said as Lizzie snickered. " Where you-"

" Whatever," Lizzie said cutting him off, knowing where he was going with it, "I'm just saying you probably deserved that. And that 502nd guy was probably proud of it." Lizzie offered, being bluntly honest. 

" You know, Tab, there were plenty other fine young ladies there that you could've asked to dance that would've kept you from that situation." Shifty offered.

" He's not wrong, Tab." Lizzie said as she narrowed her eyes towards what was in front of her. A gathering of people. People in American uniforms. She began to hear Shifty and Tab bicker.

" Hey, you two, shut up." Lizzie called, as the two glanced at Lizzie. She pointed ahead. Tab narrowed his eyes and hurried forward standing next to Lizzie.

" What in the hell?" Tab muttered. 

" It's the 502nd." Shifty said coming to stand by Lizzie's other side.

" You gotta be shitting me." Tab muttered, and Lizzie felt a smirk crawl onto her face. She glanced at Tab innocently. 

" What were you saying about those _fun_ friends again, Tab?" Lizzie asked him with a raised brow as she headed forward again, Shifty at her side. Tab grumbled and caught up with the two.

" If I get my ass beat, this on you, Elliot." Tab said as Lizzie snickered. 

" It's D-Day, Tab, I'm pretty sure any ass beating that's wanted will go down back in Aldbourne." she said, " You can save that pretty face for a little while longer."

" She's got a point, Tab, they've probably forgotten about it by now." Shifty offered in reconciliation to his friend, " Don't boost his ego too much." Lizzie snickered. 

" Yeah, yeah," Tab said waving it off. As the trio approached, a few guys started turning to them.

" 506th." Tab called to them as they approached. Lizzie saw a few smiles upon some faces. 

" Well, well, Easy Company," one guy said pointing to their helmets.

" Yeah," Tab said, " any of our guys floating through here?"

" Yeah, uh, one guy, says he's Smokey? He's over smoking a chimney. He's got 'em in his nose, a few in his mouth." the guy said shaking their hands.

" Meagerly surprised," Tab said nonchalantly. Smokey was smokey because well he smoked; a whole lot. 

" Where is he?" Lizzie asked.

" You a Virago?" the man asked her, ignoring the question.

" Yes I am." Lizzie said with a proud smile, pulling back the collar of her OD to show the tiny Athena symbol each girl had sewn into their D-Day ODs, " And proud of it."

" Damn you guys in the 506th got lucky, we just got a bunch of shit for brains Lieutenants." he said. 

" Are we surprised? The military allows anyone of human species in at this point." Tab said.

" Smokey." Lizzie said refocusing Tab's nonexistent energy.

" Right, Smokey, you know where we can find him?" Tab asked him.

" Probably over there, last I saw, guy's got a jolly laugh." the man said.

" Great, well, thanks, we'll see ya around." Tab said and turned quickly away, motioning the 2 others to follow.

" The military allows anyone of human species?" Shifty questioned at Tab as they walked through the crowd. 

" They allowed fucking Sobel in, to lead, they're growing soft." Tab stated.

" They allowed you in." Lizzie muttered with a smirk as Tab rolled his eyes.

" Elizabeth." he whined.

" Oh poor baby.' Lizzie pouted out as Tab shook his head. 

" Just let me be funny for once." Tab mumbled.

" Oh, you're funny plenty of times, you just get beat up for it most of the time in the end." Lizzie offered and Tab rolled his eyes.

" People just don't get my humor." Tab said as Lizzie and Shifty snickered, " Ah, Smokey!" The trio approached the man, who indeed had cigarettes in possibly ever facial orifice, besides the eyes. He looked up at them, his helmet strap swinging, as he pulled the cigarette that sat on his lips out and stood up.

" Tab! Lizzie! Shifty!" he said as he approached them. 

" Thought I was stuck with these guys for the rest of the war." he said as he took another smoke. 

" Well the smoke might kill ya before that." Tab said as Smokey rolled his eyes.

" They might beat you up before the boat trip home, Bunny." Smokey said. 

" What have I told you about that nickname?" Tab muttered.

" Bunny?" Lizzie asked, trying to conceal the laugh that wanted an escape route. 

" Bunnies hump just about anything there, Doc, and it just so happens this son of a bitch does as well." Smokey said, patting Tab's shoulder.

" Oh I forgot, it's make fun of Floyd day." Tab grumbled. Lizzie patted his arm.

" That's everyday, sweetheart." Lizzie said, as Tab grumbled.

" Using the word sweetheart does not make me feel better." Tab grumbled.

" Aw come on, Tab, it's just for jokes, trying to lighten the already rather depressing mood we're sucked into." Lizzie said with a shrug of her shoulders. 

" Who knew you were so funny." Tab commented as they followed Shifty over to where Smokey was getting his stuff.

" A medic's a lot of things, Tab," Lizzie said, " a bit shut off, a bit distant sure, but funny. It lightens the mood a bit." 

" You think they recognize me?" Tab said quietly leaning towards her as Shifty helped Smokey into his webbing.

" Will you calm down? There's a war on and you're worried about a guy you jumped at 5 months ago." Lizzie said watching him. 

" Is this about the bar fight?" Smokey asked as he clipped his webbing into place with him.

" Lower your voice, goddamn." muttered Tab.

" I found it quite funny," Smokey said as he unplugged a cigarette from his nose. Tab raised a brow.

" Oh really, shall I bring up the mishap in Toccoa with our beloved Skinny Sisk?" Tab said crossing his arms.

" Ok you two, duel later, focus now." Lizzie said pressing them back.

" And you said you were the smart one." Shifty said with a smirk as he patted Tab's shoulder. 

" Jenny Hendricks thought I was." Tab muttered.

" Jenny Hendricks drank 4 beers at the bar and wondered why she threw up." Smokey offered. 

" You 3, focus." Lizzie called to them.

" Why do I feel myself bickering more with anyone more than ever, Elliot?" Tab asked her as she paraded through the group of men, " You never joked much back in Aldbourne."

" Well, Tab, we're in the middle of Normandy, not with the 506th, and the only thing to brighten the mood is humor." Lizzie offered, " I'd say you'd be bickering more as well." Tab just smirked and shook his head. 

Lizzie was right, medics never opened up much, but when they did, they were truly funny people, like Lizzie and caring, putting everyone before themselves and they were beloved, without a doubt. 


	36. safety

" Sometimes we fall down because there is something down there we're supposed to find."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont was taken by nightfall, and they were given an hour to scrounge for food, for medical to get what wounded men they could ready to evacuate and for maybe 30 minutes of sleep. 

Hazel took the offer of sleep in stride, finding a nice little curbside step to nestle down on and rest herself. There was a cool breeze that blew gently as she lied there, and the quiet chatter was peaceful. Looking back on D-Day, she was proud of her motives she had taken. The whole walk to Sainte-Maire-Du-Mont put things in perspective. She had to kill that German or else the Germans would have more intel than they'd want and on a female sniper. He had seen her gun, looked right up the barrel of it into her face. 

The death was necessary. 

Sure, when it had happened, when it all went down, her emotions had gotten the better of her. But sitting here now, death was something inevitable in war. Talking with Joe Liebgott had helped her feel infinitely better; he just seemed to understand her and work out the little bits of fear of war that she had. 

Once she was brought into the Battle of Brecourt Manor though, she was zeroed in and focused and tuned into everything. Hazel accepted the fact that people would die, there would be pain and fears and failures, but it was war, a vast difference from a world without war. 

But they had to learn to accept that. 

She stared up at the looming stars, as her rifle laid beside her, propped up on the building she was next to. It was peaceful, for the moment and Hazel relished it. Catherine and Lizzie were still no-shows, but Hazel trusted both of those strong women. They'd find their way, if they were alone or with someone else. They always found a way through anything. She thought of the Edelweiss on the German's jacket. 

The mark of a true soldier. 

She knew she'd remember that moment for the rest of her life, but she knew now, not to dwell. 

Suddenly, there were loud calls for a medic. the voice was calling it out frantically, and there was evident whimpers that followed. Hazel shot up from her spot, head flipping to look over her shoulder, as she pushed hair from her face.

" What's going on?" she muttered to herself, pushing up from the ground to hurry towards the center of the town where the commotion was. Her heart plummeted at the sight.

" Catherine!" Hazel called, rushing forward, to push towards her through the crowd. She was wrapped around Gene, her face pale and in pain, with dried blood on both their hands. What had happened? Hazel raced up to the two, as Gene secured his arm over her and looked to Hazel who stopped in front of them.

" What happened?" Hazel asked as Catherine let out a painful sob at the way her arm moved. There was a bloody wrap trying to hold it in place, but it did nothing to ward off the pain. Gene couldn't respond, his fear for Catherine growing with sickening worry. 

" We need to move her to the aid station." Gene said, looping his hold tighter on Catherine.

" Let's go." Hazel said as she attempted to push through the group of people watching to get forward. 

" Medic!" Gene called when they entered the aid station and a few medical personnel came running from different directions to meet them.

" She landed wrong, her whole arms messed up, and she's had no food or a good amount of water in a while." Gene explained as he looped Catherine's good arm off him and into the arms of the two, fully awake and alert medics. 

" We'll take it from here." the first one said, as Catherine winced at the twitching pain again. Hazel watched the woman, the strong and powerful force that had inflicted a maternal instinct upon the group, being walked back into the aid station and most likely evacuated to England again, never to return for the Normandy Campaign at least. Hazel stood in shock and utter silence next to Gene, as they watched her disappear with the medics around the corner. 

" You should eat something, Gene, or even just sit down." Hazel told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked into her defeated eyes and sighed glancing back in the direction where Catherine had gone, and then nodded in grief. Hazel watched as Gene turned and left in defeat and exhaustion. Hazel glanced back to where Catherine had gone. She took a seat on the stool nearby and sat there for, how long, she didn't know. Hazel looked up again when she saw the two medics that had taken the woman back, appear from a curtain.

" Will she be ok?" Hazel asked quietly, standing up quickly and approaching the two. They looked at her.

" Shoulder blade is completely broken and shattered, she needs to be sent back to England, and have actual surgery to heal it up. Not sure how long that will take. Her external wound is also infected. " the first one told her. Hazel felt her shoulder's drop in utter defeat at that and glanced towards the curtain they'd come out of.

" Can I go in?" Hazel asked. The first looked at the second and they nodded.

" She's very emotional right now, just so you know." the second one said with a kind, yet sad smile. Hazel nodded back and forced a tiny smile to her face. Hazel turned and slowly walked over to the curtain. Hazel had never once seen Catherine cry or become upset over something. She was always either confident, her number one emotion, or defensive or brave and courageous, like a warrior. 

She never cried. 

Hazel thought now that sometimes you did have to break. 

Hazel peeled back the curtain and saw the woman, curled up in the bed, crying softly to herself, concealing the cries that escaped her lips. Catherine looked up when noticed Hazel appear at the curtain.

" Hey," Hazel said quietly, stepping inside and letting the curtain fall behind her. Catherine automatically glanced towards her arm, defeated and sighed, reaching up to wipe the tear that trailed down her face. 

" Hey," Catherine said quietly. Hazel slowly walked over to the woman and sat down on the edge of the bed looking towards the rifleman.

" I'm sorry I'm so emotional." Catherine said, " I didn't think I'd get injured my first minute of being here and then having to leave the next. It's upsetting. I came to fight and now I have to leave again." Hazel looked at Catherine.

" It's ok to be upset, Mack." Hazel said with a nod to the woman and Catherine nodded, brushing away another stray tear. Hazel had never seen Catherine cry, and now seeing her here so broken made Hazel feel terrible for her.

" You promise to make sure you keep everyone safe, right?" Catherine asked Hazel. Hazel nodded.

" And make sure Lizzie makes it back to us safely." Catherine said and then shut her eyes and let a few more tears streak down her face. Hazel sat next to Catherine comfortably, and let the girl cry into her hug. Hazel held Catherine as she cried, because she knew she wouldn't want to cry in front of anyone else. The girls were always there for each other whether it was war or peace. 

It was their sisterhood in the brotherhood. 

Hazel sat with Catherine for a while, before Catherine eventually had fallen asleep to Hazel's gentle comfort she provided. 

Slowly the curtain moved away, and Hazel looked up to see it was Gene, with his helmet removed, eyes sullen with worry. Hazel offered a small smile to the medic.

" She doing ok?" Gene asked as he slowly took a seat in the chair beside the bed, looking towards the woman, who was fast asleep. Hazel looked at Catherine and nodded.

" She'll be ok." Hazel whispered. Gene had never looked more stressed out or exhausted as he had been there in that moment.

" You ok?" Hazel asked him.

" I will be." Gene said with a small smile and a nod. Hazel watched Gene look at Catherine, and tried to understand the feelings they both must've felt. It had happened right after Catherine had landed, more like crash-landed, going straight into the ground, and they had been dealing with the injury for over 24 hours together. What type of scarring would that provide?

" I just, to deal with an injury that long, before getting some sort of treatment. She was in a lot of pain." Gene confirmed with a nod as he scratched his neck, " It was scary. She got sick a few times or was close to passing out."

" Hey, Gene," Hazel said, " you did the best you could and the best was all you could do, especially in a war zone, remember that." Gene looked at her and nodded.

" Thanks, Hazel." Gene said and Hazel nodded. Gene gently stood to his feet and then looked down at Catherine again. Then Gene met Hazel's eyes.

" I'm gonna try and get some rest." Gene said, and Hazel could see that he was having trouble just keeping his eyes open.

" You do that, Gene." Hazel said and Gene nodded with a smile, before heading out again, yawning. He looked exhausted, completely and utterly exhausted in too many ways. Eventually two medics came in and Hazel looked up.

" I'm sorry but we have to move her, to get evacuated." one medic said. Hazel nodded and looked back at Catherine. She gently rubbed her shoulder. Catherine gently shifted and then let out a cry at her shoulder.

" I have to go." Hazel said as Catherine looked at her. Hazel didn't want Catherine to leave, Catherine had always been there. Hazel was scared. Especially since Lizzie was missing as well. She was scared. But she couldn't be scared in war. Hazel sucked up any emotion she withheld inside her body and looked down at Catherine. 

" You'll heal quickly, Catherine, I know you will." Hazel said, trying her best to provide any comfort she could.

" Promise me you'll stay safe for me?" Catherine asked quietly and Hazel nodded. Hazel hugged the girl close, with tears in her eyes, before having to pull back. Hazel slowly stood and retreated towards the door with tears in her eyes. 

" See you soon, Hazel." Catherine called as Hazel smiled and waved. When Hazel got outside of the aid station, it hit her that Catherine was being evacuated and Hazel might never see her again. But Hazel told herself she would, whenever they returned to England, to Aldbourne. 

They'd see each other again. 

Hazel walked through the streets, brushing her hands off against each other, her footsteps light against the ground. So Hazel retreated to the tiny slab of stone again and laid down on it, and stared up at the sky again, the dark night sky, that was filled with stars and constellations and the ever-present glowing moon overhead.

The stars, she felt, always seemed so bright and free, and seemingly happy, but now they were clouded with the haze of sadness and war. 

Like Hazel. 

Hazel reached for the little journal and pen that sat in her pocket, and slowly pulled it out. The notebook was safe from harm, nothing had seemingly happened to it, even through the jump. She opened up to another page and began writing to her mother. She didn't know when her mother would receive it or when she'd even be able to send it out to her mother, but she hoped that when the campaign initially finished, she'd be able to send it out.

_Dear Mom,_ _  
_

_The stars don't shine as bright as they do without you. It seems cloudy almost, even hazy, and their glimmer has lessened since the last time I saw you. The invasion has happened, and I'm currently sitting and listening to the chatter from the men as they remain relieved they survived. It is the harsh reality though, the ones who've made it this far are glad to be alive. 24 hours ago, I sat boarding a plane to the invasion and now I'm here, and I've lived it already. It's already over, and in the past as we step forward. Lip was the first person I met up with and two other 82nd boys, and then I met up with Winters, Popeye Wynn, Bill, Joe Toye and Malarkey. I was glad I could see them. Another man was with this, John Hall of Able Company. He didn't survive like the rest of us, but he was there with Winters, seemingly, in the early hours of the morning, and for that I'm grateful that he did what he could for Winters._

_Catherine was injured and she's been evacuated. Gene found her and drug her the entirety of D-Day to get her to base. He was exhausted and she was emotional. I had never seen someone as emotionally distraught, in the way Catherine was. We've had our moments, but I had never seen someone as emotionally distraught as Catherine had been because she's never like that. But war has changed people, a lot. We're still waiting on Lizzie. She has yet to show, but I talked to Liebgott, we know she has to show. It's been quiet without one of our favorite medics. Lizzie's always smiling, always giving me warm hugs and gentle words, kind of like you mom. She'll make a great mom. Many people haven't shown up, like Chuck, Luz, Martin or Bull. The list could go on, Mom. It's now a waiting and guessing game to see who's going to show up next, simply because we're still missing over half the Company. We keep smiling though, and laughing and making each other happy with the company we have with each other. I hope they show soon. I hope you enjoy your summer, try and get out and see the friends, go drink coffee with them at a cute shop or hike a mountain. Watch the birds, or smell the grass, relish the silence of the breeze and the whisper of the trees. Take it all in. I'd wish I'd done that more often._

_Wishing you all my love,_ _  
_

_Hazel_

_PS. I'm not in Paris :)_

Hazel slept in Coup De Ville that night, after the company moved there after their hour break and the chaos in general. Hazel remained in a tiny cot in the aid station. Gene had gotten some coffee in him after the Catherine chaos, and had quickly began helping the other medics. He had immediately told the girl she needed rest, just from her general exhaustion and set her to sleep in the back of the aid station. She had happily obliged to Gene saying that and curled up right under the blankets and fallen asleep glad for the peaceful night of rest she'd get after over 24 hours of being nervous, consistently scared and basically wide-awake. 

She gently hummed a gentle tune her mother always sang as she fell asleep that night, that reminded her of the mountains back home in Tennessee, and the birds that chirped as she would hike up mountain trails. All the memories flooded back; each and every one from the 20 years of her life. 

She was thankful for them all, the good and the bad. 

_**For destroying the German guns at Brecourt Manor, the following medals were awarded. Bronze Stars: Walter Hendrix, Donald Malarkey, John Plesha, Joe Toye, Carwood Lipton, Cleveland Petty, Myron Ranney, Popeye Wynn, and Hazel Parker. Silver Stars: Buck Compton, Bill Guanere, Gerald Lorraine. The Distinguished Service Cross was awarded to Lieutenant Richard Winters.** _

_**Easy Company's capture of the German Battery became a textbook case of an assault on a fixed position, and is still demonstrated at the United States Military Academy at West Point, today.** _


	37. d-day plus one

" Trust yourself. You survived a lot, and you'll survive whatever is coming." 

_\- Robert Tew_

✰✰✰

When Hazel awoke on D-Day plus one, there was a warm breeze coming in through a nearby open door and there was a hint of sunlight shining on her face. And she was a bit sweaty in her uniform. Hazel slowly sat up, her head heavy, eyes struggling to remain open as she looked around and saw she was on the cot Gene had told her to sleep in last night. Hazel groaned as she swung her feet over the edge and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. As she stood, all her bones and muscles seemed to crack and stretch together, and she couldn't contain the yawn that slipped past her lips. Hazel glanced over and saw her helmet, pack and weapon lying by the side of her cot. She slowly reached down to grab her weapon and shoulder it before, swinging her pack on her back and then grabbing her helmet in her sweaty hands. She slowly stepped out of the building where the cot was and into the bright sunshine, and the pale blue skies that encased the morning of June 7th. It was beautiful, even in war. 

Hazel looked around and noticed a church nearby, a bit bombed out, the roof caved in, but she assumed that the door would be open. Hazel slowly approached the church, looking up towards the church bell that once run so gleefully. Hazel gently pushed open the door and stepped inside. The gentle wind pushed the door open a bit as Hazel looked around with wide eyes. The roof had fallen in a bit and there was rubble pretty much everywhere, but the statue of God at the end of the isle was still there. And there was a person in front of it. Hazel gently walked forward and as she neared, she clearly saw it was Gene.

" Gene?" Hazel asked quietly. The medic slowly turned at the sound of her voice. 

" Hey, Hazel." Gene said. 

" Hey," she said as she slowly knelt down beside Gene and glanced at him.

" I came in here to pray." he said softly.

" Can I pray with you?" Hazel asked him softly. Gene nodded. Hazel turned forward and listened to Gene's quiet prayer, his voice soft and gentle, as he spoke. Hazel shut her eyes gently, praying to God. When Gene finished, she cleared her throat. 

" My prayer for you dear friend is that the Lord will turn your weeping into dancing. He will give you a reason to not just smile but laugh again. The Lord will see you through this difficult situation and comfort you on all sides. Amen." Hazel whispered through shut eyes, her mind going out to both Lizzie and Catherine, and each and every man still missing from Easy Company. Gene and Hazel continued to pray for a little bit until they were left in a soft silence, where some chatter from the men were heard, as well as the wind blowing into the church through its open windows.

" Thank you Gene." Hazel said and Gene looked over at her with a smile and a nod. 

" Catherine's going to be ok." Hazel promised the medic, because even medics needed some reassurance sometimes, they were still humans. 

They were all humans a part of this war. 

Gene gave her a tiny smile.

" Yeah, she's strong." Gene said nodding and looking up towards the statue of God. Hazel smiled. She knew that Gene and Lizzie never really grew emotionally attached to people in fear of having to watch them eventually take their last breaths, but she knew they still cared, deep down in the pits of their chests, it was human nature. 

" They have some coffee." Gene told her, " A bit watery, a bit tasteless, but it's something. Came off those ships out in the English Channel." Hazel felt a smile brighten on her lips.

" Thanks, Gene. You make sure to get some in you as well, ok?" Hazel said quietly. She worried for the medics greatly, they experienced more pain than anyone in war. Hazel approached the stand where the coffee was being handed out and Gene was right, it was rather watery, and sort of tasteless, but it was liquid and Hazel was grateful for something that actually had a bit of taste. Liebgott shared his K-ration with her for lunch and the two sat side by side as they listened to a story from Bill. 

" So, I'm running through the forest alright? It's 30 minutes after the jump, you hear me?" Bill said.

" Loud and clear, Bill." Malarkey muttered. 

" Shut up." Bill said, " Anyway, I'm moving through, and I start hearing footsteps and stuff and I'm thinking about what Lizzie already warned me of, ya know the dehydration and shit like that, and I think I'm hallucinating now. So, I push up against the tree, I got a knife out with me, cause I'm thinking it's some stupid Kraut bastard moving around in the trees."

" Which is wasn't." Malarkey commented as Bill shot him a look.

" You gonna let me finish the story?" Bill said back.

" Go on." Malarkey said motioning him on. 

" Anyway, the footsteps come closer and so I jump out from the tree and shove a knife to the guy's neck." Bill said.

" My neck to be exact." Malarkey said holding up his hand." Shut it."

" In short he yells 'Who's side are you on?'" Malarkey said breaking into chuckles.

" You serious?" Liebgott asked through a laugh looking at Bill who rolled his eyes. 

" Real fucking serious, Joe, I thought I was about to be ambushed." Bill said.

" But the first words you say is who's side are you on?" Toye said looking at Bill from the ground, chuckling quietly to himself. 

" What else would've have said, huh, Joe?" Bill said leaning towards the man.

" I would've taken one right across the wind pipe." Toye said flipping around his knife. 

" Hazel did that." Liebgott said as Hazel looked at him quickly, " Pretty badass."

" No way." Toye said sitting up, " Is it like I described?"

" I guess." Hazel said with a tiny smile, " I just kinda did it in the moment."

" Man, Viragos." Bill said shaking his head, " These Kraut guys, call themselves Nazis, they won't know what's coming for them when we go marching through the front doors." 

" Catherine told me once that she sparred a guy for the last drink of beer in the cup back in her SPARs days, some bar fight. She said she won, and had knocked out a few teeth." Malarkey said.

" I'd believe that in a heart beat. Did you see her have Cobb practically in tears when we were doing close-combat?" Toye said.

" Ooh-hoo, yes I did," Bill said, snickering to himself, " Cobb was icing his back every night for a week."

" Really?" Hazel asked with a slight smirk on his face.

" Oh hell yeah, Tiny," Malarkey said sitting forward, " the guy couldn't face the fact he was beaten by a girl." 

" Let's not forget when Catherine did in fact out-drink the one and only Bill Guarnere though." Toye offered up.

" It wasn't out-drinking, Joe, it was simply my stomach couldn't take it." Bill countered. 

" She's got a stomach of steel." Hazel said with a nod, " Back at Benning, she downed 4 things of beer and then did the jitterbug." The group broke out in laughs.

" Did someone say jitterbug?" a voice said and the group turned, to find a smirking George Luz standing with his heavy radio begging to be pulled from his pack. 

" When the fuck did you get in!" Bill called as George smirked proudly. Hazel felt a smile broaden on her features.

" Just now, I would've have my radio off if I were here longer." George said as Hazel slowly stood, and hugged him gently. George accepted the warm hug from the sniper, rubbing her back. 

" Where's Catherine and Lizzie?" George asked Hazel who's features saddened. George looked to the group.

" Cath was injured in her jump." Bill told him and George's smile fell.

" She got evacuated." Hazel said quietly glancing at George gently, " But Gene was the one that got her here." George nodded.

" Lizzie?" George asked.

" Still not here," Toye said. George frowned.

" She's probably with another group of people by now, she'll be here." Hazel reassured him. The 3 women had grown on George, just simply from their highly lovable personalities. George nodded. 

" Here, sit down." Liebgott said patting the spot next to him.

" Thanks, Joe." George said, as Hazel helped him remove the large battery on his back and place it to the ground again. George sat down next to Joe with a huff. 

" Cigarette?" Malarkey offered and George took it.

" Going all day and night with that fucking thing on my back," George said with a groan, " I was glad when I saw all you guys here." 

" Anymore show up?" Hazel asked him gently placing a hand on his shoulder as she sat down beside him.

" I saw Chuck back there with Alton." George said as Liebgott lit his cigarette, " Moe's there, with Bull and Johnny, as well as Perco, Hoob, too." Hazel nodded with a small smile. Thank god for small mercies, otherwise known as the presence of George Luz. 

" You hear about Lieutenant Welsh?" George asked the group. The 5 pairs of eyes looked his way and George began chuckling.

" I met up with him last night and the only thing in that canteen is liquor." George said. Bill blinked. But then the group broke out into laughs.

" You serious?" Liebgott asked through his laugh.

" Dead serious, he offered me a sip, and the minute I got a whiff, it hit me. And it's the hard stuff too. I was wondering why he wasn't walking straight this morning." George said as the group snickered.

" He got a supplier?" Toye asked him.

" God-Knows, Joe, but the guy'ss got a few canteens on his belt, and who knows what's in that pack of his." George said as Bill cackled.

" How's he dealing with all that hangover?" Bill asked, leaning forward with a smirk. 

" You think I fucking know," George said, " he's gonna be living off alcohol for the rest of the campaign."

" Hey, if I was to die knowing the last thing I did was spend my campaign drinking alcohol from a shitty canteen, I wouldn't be too upset." Toye said. And with that, the group was filled with much needed laughter. 

By that night, there was still no sign of Lizzie, as well as some other beloved members like Tab, Shifty and Smokey; Hazel just hoped they were alright. But it was nice to have a few faces around that hadn't been there the day before, and dinner was fun because by that point Skip and Penkala had shown up, back together with Malarkey, giving Hazel big hugs as they did so, and proceeding to tell of their rather hilarious story of getting where they were now. 

It was a lighter atmosphere, which everyone needed. 

Hazel got around to cleaning her weapon thoroughly that night, scrubbing against the hard, outside layer and watching as dirt, blood, sweat and whatever else happened to be on there fall off. Hazel gently cleaned all the little nooks and crannies of the weapon, being extra careful around the barrel of the weapon and the fragile scope that sat atop it. 

The same Redfield scope model that she'd been firing with ever since her day back with Lieutenant Wilson on the field in Camp Athene. She hoped that whatever he was doing now for this war was going well and that he was leading his platoon in the 82nd with pride, just as he had trained the women of Virago's 2nd platoon. 

Lieutenant Wilson in a way was similar to Winters, in it that he led with power and pride and confidence, but remained humble when speaking to the members of his company or platoon and remained calm, not acting frazzled and worried to stress out the group. And he was reliable. 

Hazel scrubbed up the butt of the rifle, noticing the evident scratches that made its way against it by this point, and hoped that she could smooth them over the best she could. She would've used Shifty's special shining cream he always had lying around, which he had supposedly brought from Toccoa. 

But Shifty wasn't here. 

Hazel slowly continued cleaning her weapon, her hands becoming covered in grease as she did so. LIebgott had come over and checked on her, after he had shared a smoke with Malarkey. 

He had given her one of those soft, sympathetic looks that Hazel wasn't sure Joe Liebgott was capable of. 

Shifty was more likely the one to give her that look. 

But she had reassured her friend, but she knew Joe was just looking out for her, like the rest of the guys were, which she appreciated so much. Hazel slept under the stars that night, a tiny prayer for Lizzie following, hoping she'd find her way soon enough. Carentan and the battle that was to ensue there was just around the corner. But Hazel knew Lizzie, more than any of the other men that were in Easy Company. E

lizabeth Elliot was an intelligent woman, with a quiet-strength and a witty, humorous side that gave her an even more mysterious aura. 

But she was also loyal and trustworthy and so gentle and caring. 

Hazel knew that if it were anyone that could find their way back to Easy even without a map, it'd be Lizzie. 


	38. positivity

" Look for something positive in each day, even if some days you have to look a little harder." 

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

The sky was blue, yet cloudy and smoky in the early mornings of June 8th, 1944. Lizzie walked beside her companions, Tab, Shifty and Smokey, as the sun yet again beat down on their necks. 

June 7th, had been a rather, interesting day among the 4 Easy Company members. After their run in with the 502nd, they'd been moving towards Coup-de-Ville ever since where the sister companies would hopefully soon meet and then be able to engage in the offensive based around Carentan.

That was if they found the 506th. 

They'd gotten moving with 502nd the next morning by that point, and moved through the warm, humid heat that sweltered around them, intoxicating them like alcohol. Lizzie had wondered how the other 2 girls were doing, and that wherever they were, they were safe and unharmed by the brutality of war.

" I'm guessing you were right, Smoke, we might be fighting with these guys the rest of the war." Lizzie commented as she stepped over a burnt piece of driftwood.

" Ah c'mon, Elizabeth, where'd the positivity go?" Tab called over his shoulder. Lizzie rolled her eyes.

" How long are you gonna keep calling me Elizabeth?" Lizzie muttered.

" As long as it takes to annoy ya." Tab called over his shoulder. 

" Congratulations, you don't have to keep calling me that then." Lizzie said, brushing off her medic brassard a bit. Stupid dirt. She heard Tab chuckle a bit.

" You think the others are ok?" Shifty asked glancing back at the trio. 

" Well, Hazel's got a sniper that can you shoot you from a 1/2 mile away," Smokey started, " and she could throw someone down in a matter of seconds."

" Yeah, yeah you're right." Shifty said, " And Catherine?"

" The Lieutenant who's smarter than everyone in the company combined?" Tab called, " She's probably got a tally going of how many German's she's killed." Lizzie smirked.

" I know the two of them better than myself sometimes," Lizzie said as she took a glance at the sky, " if anything, they're okay." 

" You hear what those guys were saying yesterday?" Smokey said, pulling a smoke from his lips to blow of the stream of smoke.

" No, what?" Tab asked.

" They think if we keep moving, they can get forces into Germany and to Berlin. Berlin by Christmas. I'll be damned if this stupid fucking war finishes that way." Smokey said. " If we even make it to Berlin," muttered Tab.

" War won't be over by then, with everything going on in the Pacific. Some of the biggest battles aren't even won yet." Lizzie said solemnly, scratching her neck, where a bug had unfortunately bit her. 

" Wise words, yet again." Tab commented. Lizzie smirked.

" It's called reading up, Tab and listening." Lizzie said, " Like the newspaper-"

" I know what that is," Tab said, " I'm just saying wise words that we should probably listen to, ya know, coming from a medic."

" What can I say? I got a knack for it." Lizzie said, " Or I just focused in school."

" I'd say both." Shifty said with a smile and Lizzie felt a grin rise on her face.

" You try paying attention in school, when you have Linda McFields watching you." Tab said. 

" Linda McFields?" Smokey questioned, " Who in the hell?"

" Alright, I might've had a few girlfriends back in the 7th grade, but-"

" You were dating in the 7th grade?" Shifty asked Tab.

" Yeah, I mean look at me." Tab said. 

" What?" Lizzie asked as she glanced at him, " I see about the average guy walking down the streets of Grand Rapids." Tab rolled his eyes.

" I'm just that undeniable, Elizabeth." Tab said as Lizzie smirked.

" Anyway, in the 7th grade, I was preferably saving up for a new bike." Lizzie said.

" Ooh! What color?" Shifty said.

" Baby blue," Lizzie said, " it was beautiful." Shifty grinned.

" You should've seen it, Shifty, the cutest little woven basket in the front, and there was a tiny, little bell on the front, so when you rang it, everyone could hear it. I did a whole lotta babysitting for that." Lizzie said. 

" My dad got me on those bikes for me when I was kid, rode it everywhere whenever I wasn't going around and hunting." Shifty said and Lizzie grinned. Her dad, like Shifty's, was a huge part of her life, he was the one that had gotten her interested heavily in the medical field and then into military life, just like the rest of her siblings.

" You got one of those hunting dogs Shifty?" Smokey asked him, as he hauled up the machine gun on his shoulder, muttering about how he was gladly going to toss that thing straight at Alton's head once they arrived. 

" Used to, his name was Chap, strong fellow, with the droopy face, more like a hound, he died of old age though when I was a teen." Shifty said and Lizzie frowned.

" He's in doggy heaven now, doing the zoomies." Lizzie said and Shifty grinned.

" A-ha, yes! I knew someone would enjoy that term some day." Tab called, striking a hand in the air. Lizzie and Shifty snickered.

" How you holding up, Smoke?" Lizzie called back towards the man who was hauling around the heavy machine gun on his shoulders. 

" Ah you know, fine, I just love hauling around all this metal, I really see it toning up these here biceps." Smokey muttered.

" It's really working that fast?" Tab asked.

" No, shit head." Smokey said.

" Just curious." Tab said as Lizzie smirked.

" Just keep drinking water, Smokey, I'm sure we're close, I can see smoke rising ahead." Lizzie said pointing.

" Well, I'll be damned." Smokey said, " I can finally hand it off soon." 

" Unless they get us moving again once they get there," Shifty said with a small smile.

" What in the same-hell?" groaned Smokey, as he shifted his shoulders a bit with the weapon. 

" I always wondered how you medics can haul that satchel around all the time." Smokey said.

" Don't get her started on mindsets again, Smokey." Tab said and Lizzie laughed. 

" I thought you enjoyed my philosophical insights?" Lizzie said, with a shrug of her shoulders. Tab rolled his eyes. The group continued into a marsh, where there was a plane on fire, slight smoke clouds billowing from it, and a rancid burning scent coming from it. Lizzie watched as Tab slowed his pace down slowly and glanced towards a figure, standing in a field by a large hedge of trees. The figure was short and slim, yet bulky looking with all the excess gear that was on his body. 

It was Albert Blithe; Lizzie could tell simply by the way he looked towards the sky and arched his head. He had come in one time back in Aldbourne, complaining of a pounding headache and she had made him look up to check his eyes, to make sure it wasn't a concussion or something. She watched as Tab came to a stop and stared out with a sort of confused expression toward Blithe. He titled his head to the side to get a better look at him it seemed, as Shifty pulled his canteen from his side.

" Hey, it looks like What's-His-Name." Tab said and Lizzie glanced back towards Blithe. 

" You know, from 1st platoon?" Tab questioned.

" Our 1st platoon?" Shifty asked, unscrewing the top of his canteen, as Lizzie stepped up to Tab's side and shifted the helmet up from her head a bit. 

" Real specific." she muttered.

" It sure does." Smokey said, cocking his head to the side. 

" Blithe." Tab called out, the name seemingly coming to his mind.

" Hey, Blithe." Tab called, louder and with force this time, " Blithe!" Gunshots rang off in the distance, as Blithe was struck out of his trance. He turned to face the group of four that stood staring at him, questioningly. Blithe approached the 4, still dazed and confused from what had previously occurred to him, taking careful cautious steps through the field. 

" Thought that was you." Tab said with a slight smile as Blithe approached. Lizzie sent the man a smile. Tab moved his weapon from his left to right hand and nodded to Blithe.

" You alone?" Tab asked. Blithe nodded, subconsciously.

" You're the first familiar faces I've seen." Blithe said.

" I ain't surprised," Smokey said," They dropped us all over the goddamn peninsula." 

" We've been fighting with the 502nd since we hit the ground." Tab said.

" It's been quite the long haul." Lizzie with with a forced smile.

" You?" Tab asked him. Blithe looked at Tab.

" Oh, I've been, um, trying to find Easy." Blithe said and Lizzie smiled. 

" Join the club." Tab said with a nod and slight smile, before turning and walking off to his right. Lizzie gave Blithe another smile before turning and following after Tab, Smokey and Shifty right behind her. Lizzie caught up to Tab's side.

" You could've backed off the sarcasm a tad." she said as Tab glanced her way. 

" Why?" he asked her, " Humor's the only way to get through this I thought." Lizzie bit back her lip, resisting the urge to roll her eyes for the 5th time today.

" You're funny." she muttered, sarcastically. Tab chuckled, as he placed a cigarette on his lips and took a smoke. She shook her head. She was funny alright, but once the real war started, funny would not be her number one personality trait.

When their group of 5 finally approached Coup De Ville, Lizzie felt relief when she began to notice each and every familiar face in front of them when they walked up. She saw George Luz, Joe Liebgott, Donald Hoobler, James Alley, the list went on. She saw Hazel talking to Chuck a smile on her face as she laughed, the sunlight shining down and making her hair golden.

" Hey fellas!" Tab called, and all eyes turned over to see that it was the group of 5 that everyone else was so earnestly waiting for to arrive. 

" Well, look who decided to show up, Floyd." George called out toward the group, and smiles lit up everyone's faces. Hazel noticed the group of people coming towards them.

" How the hell are ya?" Luz asked as he shook Tab's hand.

" Hi there, Luz." Tab said, with a smile, coming up next to Liebgott who was going off about some Nazi flag he had.

" We thought we'd never find you guys." Tab said with pure joy on his face as he registered every person who stood nearby. 

" Hey, Tab, get a load of this." Liebgott said, holding up the huge flag in front of him, humbly yet proudly, as other eyes glanced at what Joe had.

" You like that?" Joe asked.

" Yeah, it's the rest stuff, man." Tab said before stuffing into his pocket.

" Yeah, of course." Joe said.

" You like," Tab started, pulling a German poncho from his side, " You like this?"

" Ohhhh! Nice!!!" called George excitedly staring at the poncho. 

" That's a beauty, Sarge." George called out to the man with a smirk.

" That's a nice one, Mr. Talbert." Joe called with a smile, as Tab walked away from the two, proud as a peacock

" That's a hell of a poncho, Tab." George called, as Hoobler turned.

" My Luger's gonna put you all to shame when I get it!" Hoobler called after Tab.

" Hazel!" Lizzie called catching sight of the girl. Hazel's heart dropped and as she turned she saw Lizzie pulling her helmet off, with wide eyes.

" Lizzie!" Hazel called, not hesitating to race forward and wrap her arms around Lizzie, pulling her close. Lizzie held Hazel close, the biggest smile on her face. It felt so nice to get a hug from someone Lizzie considered her sister, it felt like family. Hazel slowly pulled back and Lizzie looked around.

" Where's Cath?" Lizzie asked her. Hazel's eyes dropped to the ground as she nervously bit her lip. Hazel bit her lip when she was nervous. Lizzie's mind thought of the worst possible circumstances that were about to leave Hazel's mouth.

" She got injured in the jump." Hazel said softly, " She was evacuated back to England." Lizzie's heart fell. 

" What happened?" Lizzie asked softly.

" She shattered her shoulder, supposedly her parachute opened up late and it was a malfunction. She crashed landed on her shoulder." Hazel said softly, crossing her arms, as her hand went to touch the Star of David that sat around her neck, worriedly rubbing it.

" She'll be ok though, Gene brought her in." Hazel confirmed and Lizzie felt relief. Gene. Gene had gotten her to safety. She could always trust Gene.

" Well, how are you?" Lizzie asked, placing her hands on Hazel's shoulders, " You ok? You look stressed."

" No, no I'm fine," Hazel said waving her off the worry list, and an analysis on stress, " I was just hoping to see everyone else we were missing soon. And here you are." Lizzie grinned.

" How was it yesterday?" Lizzie asked, " We figured only good could come from it."

" We took the garrison, it was 3 hours long, but we got through it." Hazel said, " And I got to see Lieutenant Speirs in action." Lizzie's eyes jumped to the size of basketballs.

" No way, the one who shot that Sergeant in his platoon?" Lizzie asked. 

" Yeah," Hazel said, " but who cares. He got me ammo. And then ran back right through the fire. It was badass." Lizzie grinned.

" Well, I got to spend 2 and 1/2 days with that lovely trio." Lizzie said.

" Who?"

" Oh you know, Smokey, Shifty and-"

" Me, of course." a voice said and Hazel watched as Tab walked forward, holding his hands up grandly like some God.

" Tab!" Hazel said and Tab grinned widely.

" Hey there Tiny." Tab said as she incased him in a warm hug. He pulled back.

" Yeah, lucky me." Lizzie muttered.

" Oh come on, I was a pleasure." Tab said, rolling up the German poncho. 

" Tell that to him." Lizzie said pointing to the German poncho.

" We might've engaged with a few Germans yesterday and I might've snatched a German poncho off him." Tab said as Lizzie smirked. 

" Where's Mack?" Tab asked. Lizzie frowned and Hazel went back to biting her lip.

" Her parachute malfunction and she got injured. She's being evacuated back to England." Hazel said softly.

" Damn, really?" Tab said and Hazel nodded. He sighed.

" Well, I won't be surprised if she goes AWOL, you know what I mean?" Tab said and the two women laughed at his comment. 

" That'd be like her." Lizzie commented and Hazel grinned.

" What'd you say her injury was again?" Lizzie said glancing at Hazel.

" Supposedly a shattered shoulder blade." Hazel said and Lizzie grimaced, her face scrunching up in utter pain.

" That's going to take a lot of time to heal," Lizzie said, " unless they mistook it for a fracture, which sometimes can happen simply because of where the fracture can occur. If not she has up to a year before her range returns to normal." Hazel felt her heart drop. 

" Let's pray then that those medics were just anticipating the worst." Hazel said and Lizzie nodded.

" Hey you two," Tab said placing hands on both of their shoulders, " she'll be okay, I mean it's Catherine we're talking about, right? Takes no bullshit sorta thing? She's going to be okay no matter what happens." 

" Thanks, Tab." Hazel said softly with a gentle smile as Tab grinned.

" Yeah, of course," Tab said, and then glanced at Lizzie, " someone told me that positivity is usually the best thing to use in any situation." Lizzie felt a grin spread on her face, the one where your eyes crinkled up a bit too. 

The best smiles. 

A genuine one. 


	39. sainte-come-du-mont

" A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

" Hey! Hazel!" a voice said and Hazel glanced over her shoulder to see it was Shifty.

" Shifty!" Hazel called, turning excitedly and jumping up and down before pulling him into a hug into her arms, a grin spread on her face.

" I'm so glad you made it." Hazel said as she pulled back from Shifty.

" Yeah me too, Lizzie's the one to thank for that." Shifty said and Hazel glanced over her shoulder toward Lizzie who offered a tiny mock salute with two fingers. Hazel smiled.

" You feeling okay? You need water?" Hazel asked him, she figured they'd been gone for as long as they were and that they needed some sort of water or liquid by now. 

" Yeah, that'd be great." Shifty said. Hazel waved to Tab and Lizzie before leading Shifty over to her things and bending down to hand him her canteen which was filled with fresh water.

" I heard about Catherine." Shifty said as he took a gentle sip of water. Hazel smiled sadly. 

" She'll be okay though, I've seen her around Aldbourne and in training. She'll find a way." Shifty said and Hazel smiled with a nod.

" She always does." Hazel agreed and Shifty smiled.

" So how was using that thing for the first time in combat?" Shifty asked, " You took the garrison right?"

" Oh yeah!" Hazel exclaimed, taking hold of the Springfield and holding it up in the morning light, " I can thank my training for the shots I was able to take." Shifty grinned. 

" What was it like?"

" Well," Hazel said as she sat down and held up the scope to her eye as she sat criss-cross applesauce, " I just felt a wave of trust, ya know, like you and your own gun, and I knew I could look straight down the weapon and through the scope and just know that it would be guide me to what I needed to do. Even my dad's weapon never made me feel that confident." Shifty smiled and glanced down at it.

" You're one of the best I know with it anyway, I had no doubt, you'd be good with it." Shifty said and Hazel grinned. 

" Thanks Shifty." Hazel said and Shifty smiled.

" You doing okay with Catherine not being here, I know she's special to you." Shifty said and Hazel glanced up at him with a sad look in her eyes. Many people had been asking Hazel making sure she's okay just because well this was the first time ever during her training and war time that Hazel and Lizzie would not be accompanied by Catherine who was in a way like the ring-leader. But Hazel knew that she could handle things by herself as well, even with Catherine not around; Hazel just knew she'd miss her. 

" Yeah," Hazel said. Shifty gave her a quiet look. It was the same look Liebgott had given her last night when he had asked her how she was doing.

" It's just, it didn't fully sink in yet, but it's war and people are going to get hurt and injured and have to be evacuated. I was just with her for so long and to see her so ready for war, it's just, it's sad. I feel bad that she couldn't be a part of the fight." Hazel said. Shifty slowly crouched beside her and smiled at her.

" She'll still be here." Shifty said, and glanced out at the guys, " In a way she always is." Hazel smiled. Shifty was right. It was like her spirit in a way always moved throughout the men of Easy Company. It was a nice thing to feel sometimes.

" Let's go 1st platoon!" a voice, by that of Harry Welsh, started calling out for the men and women to get moving. 

" Easy's moving out! On your feet!" Welsh called. Shifty gave Hazel back her canteen and she pocketed it before hauling up her rifle and helmet and pieces of gear she used. Hazel and Shifty retreated towards where Harry Welsh stood, sipping from the canteen that George had suspected had absolutely no water inside of it, which had made Hazel laugh.

" Listen up." Welsh called as Hazel gently placed her helmet on her head.

" It'll be dark soon. I want light and noise discipline from here on. No talking, no smoking. And no playing grab-fanny with the man in front of you, Luz." Welsh called as the group laughed.

" So where we headed to Lieutenant?" a soldier asked walking up.

" We're taking, Carentan." Welsh said.

" That sounds like fun." someone called out. 

" It's the only place where armor from Omaha and Utah beach can link up and head inland. Until we take Carentan, they're stuck on the sand. General Taylor's sending the whole division." Welsh explained, as he geared up. Hazel glanced over at Tab, and saw him grabbing at his lip nervously, something she noticed he'd done a few times before.

" Remember, boys..." Luz called out behind them, " Give me three day-ays and three ni-ights of _hard fighting_ , and you _will_ be _relieved_." Chuckles rang out around the whole of the group as Luz's impression. 

" Lieutenant, Lieutenant, I'll take point." Hoobler said walking up to Welsh with a nod.

" Corporal Hoobler will be lead scout." Welsh said, before stopping and looking out into the group, " Blithe, glad you could join us." 

" Thank you, sir." Blithe said softly.

" 1st platoon, fall in behind Fox Company. You people from 2nd and 3rd platoon, follow us. " Welsh said with a nod. " Let's shake a leg." 1st platoon continued forward as Luz called out again. 

" Another thing to remember, boys...flies spread disease, so keep yours closed." Luz laughs rung out about the group, and Hazel couldn't help but laugh at it. 

They retreated out of Coup-de-Ville that morning and began their move towards the town of Carentan, towards the outskirts where supposedly Germans were holed up at. Their supplies were on the beaches of Normandy but to truly get this war moving, they needed to be moved up on land. Taking Carentan was the only was to get that done. 

Hazel and Liebgott trudged side by side through the marshy lands of Normandy, the water soaking their boots a bit, but acting as a way to cool them off because it was cool water and not the blistering hot and heavy sun that loomed overhead, baking them like fresh baked cookies. Hazel would enjoy a cookie right about now.

Liebgott managed to lighten the mood, of the miserable walk through the boiling sun in heavy OD gear and weapons, by telling her stories and such that got her laughing. It made the experience not as miserable as it actually was. 

Hazel wasn't sure how long they had been walking. It had grown dark out after a while, and every so often gun shots rang out in the distance darkness, signaling someone's final moments. Fire burned around a forgotten swamp, filling the air with smoke and the dingy smell of death and dankness. On both sides of the lake walked Easy and the remains of other companies. No one talked, or even attempted to talk. Easy had lost F Company again currently. It had been multiple times even in broad daylight where F Company had gotten skittish and disappeared. The group stopped, and was currently waiting for them to be found, sitting amongst the rubble and remains of whatever had happened here. Hazel didn't realize it as Winters and Nixon eventually made their way through the group of men toward the front where Welsh and First Platoon was. 

Hazel thanked God for Thermes in this very moment, and she wasn't sure what it was. Desperation, fear, the list could go on. The man had been like the devil to her, but in this moment she thanked him so much for preparing them for night marches through the darkness with no light, whether it was 100 degrees in North Carolina or -15 degrees in the mountains at night with all that snow. 

Liebgott had told her stories from Toccoa about some of the night marches with Sobel and she knew Sobel had been somewhat like Thermes, preparing them for those nights whether it be cold or hot, in a battle zone. Even in England, those long 3 day practices that no other company would perform except for Easy, had helped. It had prepared them for this, 2 days into the Campaign. Thunder suddenly cracked loudly over top of them in the sky above Normandy. 

They spent a majority of the night waiting for Fox Company to connect with them before finally getting on the move again. They bedded down that night Eturville, just on the outskirts where people could set up their foxholes. Hazel and Liebgott were just beginning to dig out their foxhole when Lizzie came around.

" Hey," she said crouching beside them in the humid night as they shoveled dirt out, " you two doing ok?" 

" Yeah," Hazel said, " you doing rounds?"

" Yep, Gene just sent off the rest of the medics for rounds." Lizzie explained, scratching the back of her neck and then slapping it, " Damn bugs."

" I got about 4 on my hand." Liebgott said shoveling out a bit of the soil onto the ground.

" What I'd give for my mother's homemade bug repellant." Lizzie said.

" Homemade?" Hazel asked.

" Yeah, yeah, the bug's are always bad in Grand Rapids in the summer, especially near the lake and she'd always make her bug repellent homemade, it repelled virtually everything." Lizzie explained and Hazel smiled.

" Tell her to send some over when she gets the chance." Liebgott said and Lizzie snickered as she stood.

" Will do, Joe, now keep drinking water as well, even through the night, your body dehydrates quicker when it's hot." Lizzie said as she began to walk away.

" Will do." Liebgott called, as Lizzie disappeared. 

The Easy Company medics were some of the bravest and toughest members of Easy, including that of Spina, Oates, Pepping and Gene, and of course Lizzie. Mampre, who was their 6th Easy Company medic, could not make the jump into Normandy; he'd caught an infection, a nasty sickness. But the medics remained strong even without their final member. The 6 medics always trained together and in a way they had their own language for each other, without really even needing words to communicate sometimes. 

Hazel always told them, even back in training, when she saw one moving along the streets of Aldbourne, how much she appreciated them and their work and how hard they were training for this. 

They deserved it. 

They were taking Sainte-Come-du-Mont in the coming days, at least that was the anticipated plan in the coming days before they reached Carentan, where the main offensive would be held. Within that morning, they were moving again, down the long highway that seemed to run straight into Carentan stopping at little villages along the way.

The 101st had lost a lot of men, between the 501st, 502nd and the 506th, and there was anticipation that when they took Sainte-Come-Du-Mont, there'd be even heavier casualties. Night fell yet again, and they had to rest and prepare for the oncoming attack tomorrow of the small town, which from far away didn't look too incredibly difficult, but they knew, once they got up close that there would be difficulty found within. Hazel had managed to tally the amount of people she had shot, for her vivid memory of each shot from her weapon he encased her entire mind. 

The one German with the green eyes, early in the morning of D-Day and then the 25 she took out while battling the garrison. 

26\. 

In a matter of days she had a total of 26. Even if it truly was war, she knew that number, plus who ever else she managed to add to her list, would eventually settle like a trap of guilt in the pit of her stomach. But for now, they were people dead and they were closer to the ending of this war. 

It rained that night, a downpour, but she remembered what Catherine had told her, France's weather was either hot and muggy or hot and rainy, there seemed to be no in between of just overcast which was preferable. 

Lizzie did her rounds in the rain, stopping by each and every foxhole she could, making sure the men were dug in and that they were set for the night and of coursing drinking water to keep them hydrated. 

Hydration was key for a soldier. 

She even advised that the one's with empty canteens leave them out of the foxholes to fill up with water; you had to be resourceful in war. Lizzie went to Tipper and Chuck's foxhole which was more near the outskirts of foxholes, but she managed to make sure the two men who carried their Bazooka's around were feeling okay with all the heat.

" Hey boys," Lizzie said as she crouched by the foxhole as the rain pelted down on her helmet, falling in front of her face, as she looked at them through the rain.

" Hey, Doc. How's it going?" Tipper asked her.

" Not too bad," Lizzie said glancing around, " I just love downpours." 

" Don't we all." said Chuck as Tipper snickered to himself.

" You two staying as dry as you?" she asked.

" If dry is, my feet are soaked, then yes we're staying dry Doc." Tipper said as Lizzie smirked at them.

" Right," Lizzie said and glanced over her shoulder, " by the time this rain stops it might even be tomorrow morning so I suggest you wake up and take your boots off to air dry everything with these heat and dry your feet off. You don't need trench foot a few days into this campaign because of rain." 

" Will do, Doc." Chuck said and Lizzie smiled at him.

" You staying dry, Doc?" Tipper asked him.

" I'm trying, Tip, but I have to make sure you all are okay first." Lizzie said with a nod.

" Alright," Tip said.

" Make sure you rest tonight as well." Chuck told her with a narrowed brow. 

" I will don't worry, need to prepare for tomorrow anyway." Lizzie said and Chuck nodded.

" Get some rest boys." she said before standing and trekking through the rain again. She continued through most of the foxholes before heading back towards the one she were to share with Gene like she had the night before. It was a muddy foxhole, no dry area since they were both out on rounds, but Lizzie just eased herself into the mud as the rain continued to pelt down and relished the feeling of sitting down and not moving her legs for once. 

" That you, Lizzie?" a voice said and Lizzie cracked open an eye to see Oates in front of her.

" Hey, what's up?" she asked adjusting herself.

" Nothing, just doing rounds on the medics. Spina's in the foxhole now and Pepping's there too. Gene's heading this way now." Oates explained.

" Thank you, get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow." Lizzie said. 

And a big day they had. 

Casualties were as expected. 

Heavy, but they took Sainte-Come-Du-Mont which got them closer to Carentan and its outskirts. 

Carentan was scheduled to be taken within 2 days, the 12th of June, so Hazel was sent on solo patrols those 2 evenings leading up to it. She was generally sent out to spy on the town, see if she could get a good look at any Germans that seemed to be moving about, how many would stand near the entrance where Easy would enter. 

Hazel usually headed out when it was darkest, around 2300 and stay out for a few hours, before taking a few calculations down in her tiny notepad where the letter to her mother sat before crawling back towards where Easy was camped out for the night. Winters had decided that he liked giving Hazel the ability to go out and do that simply because she had a trained eye that picked up even the slightest bit of movement and was highly accurate compared to some of the other members of Easy. Virago training, that's what Hazel had to tell herself. 

She wasn't born with this talent to be able to do this, training and hard work had gotten her here. And she appreciated that, because sometimes the best things in life come from hard work and hard training. 

As Hazel crawled out the night before the attack, she had just left the foxhole she shared with Liebgott, where a few guys had sat on the edge and they all talked about the attack. Everyone was overwhelmed it seemed. 

Their first, really official battle as a full company together. It was just what war came with, unwanted anxiety and nerves that weaved its way through the body system. Hazel crawled out towards where she had gone the best few nights to overlook Carentan and remained scoped out, taking in observations, such as different things the Germans set up through the border of the town, just little things like that. 

The process was lonely sometimes, as Hazel stayed completely and utterly quiet, covered in a dark, army green poncho, with only her eyes sticking out looking through the scope of the rifle, but she usually shoved that aside and relished the peace and quiet that came equipped with being a sniper in the middle of the night. 

She would always stalk quietly, her scope following a few people every so often. She could see certain buildings where more people went inside than others and knew they were officer's cabins or offices where they were currently leading and working from. 

It was just little things Hazel was able to pick up on, and of course she'd always make sure to note that down on her pad of paper. By the time it grew to be the next day though and about 0200 she would slowly crawl back under the cover of the dark poncho and then approach the foxholes again. And she would check in with Winters usually. 

Hazel slowly approached where Winters stood talking with Nixon, Harry, Buck and Moore as well as Lip. Most likely about the invasion tomorrow; they'd be up late most nights, just discussing everything.

" Good early morning, sir." Hazel said as she approached. Winters turned and saw the young girl coming towards him, the large poncho, especially large on her. 

" For 3 hours no one came outside of Carentan like last night, but I've scoped out where officer's barracks could be and where intel and information could possibly also be, maps, radios, things like that." Hazel explained, and ripped the tiny page from her booklet before handing it to Winters.

" Thank you, Hazel." he said. 

" You're welcome." she said brightly and then cast a smile at the rest of the group who gave exhausted, yet reassuring smiles. Easy's officers were some of the best, staying up until 0300 just to ensure the safety of their men tomorrow, risky health and sleep and rest, but willing to do so, so that their company could move through smoothly and understand the plan they were about to execute. 

Hazel admired that. 

She had always admired all of them from the day she met them.

" Go get some rest, we'll be moving early tomorrow." Winters told her as he put the piece of paper in his front pocket. Hazel saluted.

" Yes, sir." she said and he saluted her back. She then turned and trudged away with her rifle on her shoulder, ready for a few hours of much needed sleep. When she slid into the foxhole, she found that Liebgott was still awake. She slid in next to him, and pressed her sweaty back up against the wall, staring up at the stars.

" They're pretty neat, aren't they?" Liebgott asked, as he pulled the pack of smokes in his front pocket out and pulled a cigarette out and put it on his lip. He lit it up and let out the bit of smoke. Hazel sighed with a smile. This is how most nights were spent when she'd come back. They'd admire the stars together and talk a bit, before they grew tired. It calmed the nerves, something that usually was never calm in war. 

" I don't know why but I've always admired the stars, Lieb" she said and bit her lip.

" You see that?" Liebgott said, and Hazel watched as he withdrew his hand and pointed up towards a constellation that seemed so vast and huge even in the French wilderness. 

" Yeah." Hazel said as her eyes grew wide in amazement.

" That's Orion." Liebgott said, " Always thought he was the coolest constellation. Used to think he protected me from nightmares when I was a kid." Hazel glanced towards him, surprised. 

" Really?" she asked. Liebgott smirked at the playful glint in her eye.

" Yeah, yeah," Joe said, " another thing you can make fun of me for." 

" Oh Joe come on," she said giving him a shove, " I don't entirely care." She looked back up at the stars again. 

" Cassiopeia I always thought was pretty cool." Hazel said as she leaned back again with a smile to Joe.

" Did you think you'd be here?" Joe asked her, " You know after you joined the WAC?" Hazel glanced at him and let out a tiny sigh before glancing at the sky again.

" I believe in God, Joe." Hazel said softly and then looked at him. Joe watched her softly.

" God believed that he could put me through something like this, and I believed I could to," Hazel said softly, eyes shining with stars in them, " so when the flyer came I signed up." Hazel looked at him with a sad shrug. He didn't know about her dad. But she didn't want to gain all his trust and then show him that she really feared trusting people so much. But the thing was, she trusted Joe, a lot. They were best friends. 

" My mom always said I could join up, in the WAC, she always believed in me and said I could. I could fire a weapon from when I was 5, and it has just always been like that. I never really believed I could though until I really joined up. Then I finally believed I could. I trusted myself enough." Hazel admitted, " It was hard." Joe sat up a bit and looked at her.

" What'd your dad think?" he asked her. Hazel hadn't mentioned her dad saying anything about her going off to war. Hazel bit her lip and looked at him. 

" I haven't seen my dad since I was 8." Hazel said as looked away from him to look back up at the stars. Joe stared at the girl in front of him. But he wouldn't push or ask her even more questions. He wanted to let her get to the point where she felt comfortable telling the rest. That didn't have to be now. He didn't know why she hadn't seen him since she was 8, if he was dead, if he left, if something had happened.

" Hazel, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..."

" Joe, it's fine," Hazel said stopping him with placing a hand on his kneecap and gently patting it, " you are one of my best friends, and I trust you." She'd said it. She trusted him. Hazel trusted him with her life. Joe looked at her and she smiled slightly.

" Trust is hard for me," Hazel said as she retracted her hand and sat back admiring the stars again, " but Catherine and Lizzie showed me I could trust them, and you showed me I could trust someone like you." Hazel glanced at Joe. He showed her that she could trust males again. Joe smiled slightly. 

" I'd trust you with my life, Hazel, I hope you know." Joe said quietly glancing at her. Hazel quirked a smile his way, and listened in, as she picked at a piece of clover from the side of the foxhole and played with it.

" Me too." Hazel said as she looked at him with soft blue eyes. Joe smiled.

" Only because I always bring the best chocolate." Hazel said with a small smirk on her face, as she plucked off another bit of the clover in her hand.

" Yeah right," Joe said and playfully shoved her shoulder. Hazel laughed, as she threw the clover at him, and he dramatically shoved it away. Hazel proudly smirked at him, and shrugged her shoulders before sitting back and staring at the stars. 

Chocolate was always a crowd pleaser.


	40. carentan

" Courage in danger is half the battle."

_\- Plautus_

✰✰✰

On D-Day plus 6, Easy Company awoke within the early hours of the morning, just as the first of the sun's rays were beginning to make their daily appearance. They ate the last bits of the K-rations they were all provided, sipped their water from the canteens and then were on the move. They moved along a dusty road that lead towards the town. 

As Hazel walked, she felt her feet with each step give a dull ache, mainly from all the walking they had done. Lip was just a few people in front of her, talking quietly with Lieutenant Welsh. They were discussing the offensive of Carentan; she knew how the officers were with Easy, they cared so deeply for the men of the company and just wanted the best for the company as they marched towards the battle. 

By the late morning, it was a bright and sunny day, and it was extremely hot, the sun blistering down on the soldiers, as they were crammed into the dips in the side of the road. There was a creaking coming from a door or shutters from a building in the town close by. The crickets were chirping in the heat as sweat trickled down the many paratroopers' faces. Smoke billowed from certain buildings, going into the blue and slightly cloudy sky. 

Hazel was near the front, surprisingly, even as a sniper. She was in her entire get up of gear, with more face paint on her face than the rest, the sweat falling down her face thickly. The gun was slippery in her hands and the heat that moved up from the rocks under her into her ODs made her sweat more in her extra layer of coverage. 

Her instructions had been simply. 

Coming upon the village had been exactly what she had expected, based on what she had scoped out on previous nights. Buildings surrounded the outer edge of the town and she would have to more in towards the town so she could see things such as the center of the town and larger main streets and places were sniper could possibly be crammed into. Starting out at the front was her best bet. She glanced towards Winters a little bit in front of her and watched as his lips moved speaking to Welsh. He was quick in his tone and words before turning and moving up the center of the road slowly, step by step before peaking up over the edge again. He shuffled back, before stopping at Welsh and glancing at his watch.

" Go." she saw him mouth. 

" Let's go, 1st, let's go!" Welsh called in a whisper to first platoon. Harry then slowly stood up a bit, and hurried forward, Luz on his tale.

" Go, go, go!" Winters called going down the row of soldiers on either side. Hazel stayed on the ground to the side as soldiers ran forward, and her heart dropped when she heard a German voice call out, and then shots sounded and fired. A soldier or two dropped as Luz and Welsh continued forward and out of site behind a building. 

" In the ditch!" Someone yelled.

" Incoming!" Winters yelled, as Hazel quickly pulled her sniper up to shooting position, facing forward, looking towards the building where the shots came from. 

Moving inwards would have to wait. 

A machine gun gave out sporadic fire from a window and soon enough Hazel got eyes on it. The machine gunners came from multiple windows as Hazel stayed hidden, having eyes on both. Her finger neared the trigger. 

Then she suddenly watched as a small figure ran forward. 

It was Lizzie, dodging through gunfire to get to the fallen soldiers on the ground. Hazel watched in fear as Lizzie managed to dodge every bullet and yank the soldiers into the ditch before disappearing where Luz and Welsh had gone. 

Lizzie slammed into Luz's side, tripping over her feet as she collapsed at his feet, struggling to stand up again.

" Goddamn it!" Luz called as he slammed into Welsh.

" Where the fuck is everybody?" Welsh called noticing the small medic there as well, out of breath, and holding her heart. Luz came over top of her and attempted to aid the rest of the company, by shooting at the machine gunners.

" Where did everybody go?" Welsh called again.

" I have no idea!" Luz called back before coming over top of Lizzie again and continuing his shooting. 

Hazel had frozen for a moment as she watched Lizzie through the scope move smoothly and without fear through the bullets, saving those 2 lives at the same time.

" Guide me and guard me God, let me follow your path and guide me." Hazel whispered softly, as her eye watched the machine gunner in the top house shoot again towards where Luz, Lizzie and Welsh all were positioned near. She cracked out a bullet and watched as it sailed straight into the machine gunner's head, knocking him backwards away from the gun; only the bottom machine gunner was the issue now. 

" Let's go Easy!" Winters suddenly called out over the group. Hazel, scooped her rifle into her grasp, locking it quickly, preparing the ammo that was inches from her grasp on her belt.

" Get those MGs moving, will ya!" Strayer yelled. 

" They're in the open for Pete's sake!" Nixon yelled back looking up from the map in his hands.

" Go! Go!" Winters yelled as an explosion rattled off next to him. Hazel could only sense chaos everywhere. 

" Get 'em going, Buck!" WInters yelled to Buck who sat crouched on the side. " Follow me, Easy!" 

" Move out!" Winters had to yell to the men behind Hazel who lay ready to shoot on the next face that popped up and was a Kraut. Winters appeared over the peek yelling at men to move. 

" Hazel, move closer!" Winters yelled to her and Hazel glanced back at him with a nod. 

They were moving into the town. 

Hazel pushed up from the ground, and began racing down after a bunch of other men of Easy Company, down the pebble filled road, as dust kicked up, filling their lungs. Hazel hacked a few times, as she caught sight of someone. 

Shifty. 

She followed after him as she heard the gunfire from the bottom level machine gunner start opening up again. He burst through a gate in front of him, and Hazel crashed in after him with the rifle, sidling up to his side. She was only a few inches shorter than him as she stood next to him, but she couldn't peak out from next to him. Shifty glanced at her, before a shot echoed in front of them, and the two watched a man fall in front of them. 

Hazel stared, heart dropping. 

Calls for a medic rang out and Hazel waited to see Lizzie appear somewhere, where ever she had initially gone. Hazel peered out past Shifty, watching as a man hurried forward, a grenade in his hand, fuse ready to go off. Hazel watched as he launched it forward, probably hoping it would create some sort of distraction as he did so. But then a single shot fired out and the man collapsed in a heap on the ground.

" I need to move inwards Shifty," Hazel said, as she moved around him and peered around the corner. Shifty opened his mouth to speak but then a loud, ear-piercing voice stopped that completely. 

" Sniper!"

" I gotcha Hazel." Shifty said with a nod, before slowly peaked out around the corner, without adjustment and shooting his weapon before jumping back, quickly killing the sniper in an instant. Hazel grinned. He ripped off another shot and the one machine gunner disappeared. She was then about to step out into the battle and move towards the balcony she had scoped out which would conceal her and keep her high up and away from everyone else. 

Suddenly, shots came back, and Shifty shot back into Hazel, pushing her back into the chickens who clucked in the chaos.

" Ah shit!" Shifty yelled as he slammed back fulling into the wall. 

" I need to move closer!" Hazel called to Shifty. Her duty was calling her and they were pinned down under machine gun fire. Shifty peaked around the corner and shot back as another blast projected him backwards.

" We need some covering fire, ready, Luz?" Welsh asked the man as Lizzie stood up behind the two. Luz moved around the edge of the building and cracked off shot after shot as Welsh prepared his grenade. He turned to Lizzie and nodded to her.

" When you hear the call, you go, don't worry about us." Welsh told her. Lizzie nodded with a smile.

" Yes, sir!" she said to him.

" Medic!" came the call, and she was off, tearing around the other edge of the building and disappearing. Hazel watched from her point of view as a shortened figure, by which she suspected to be Harry Welsh, raced forward and launched a grenade into the bottom level machine gunner, chunks blowing everywhere inside as the firing quickly stopped. Hazel waited a few seconds as the firefight of the battle continued around them, before deciding on her decisions. 

" You okay, Shifty? Parker?" Lip suddenly yelled in their direction. Shifty answered with a thumbs up.

" I'm gonna move." Hazel said, giving Shifty a quick pat on the shoulder, before jumping out into the war-torn street and moving down the alley which had old French posters covering the walls, calling for people to join the war effort. Hazel approached the corner and peaked around it, noticing the bombed out buildings that lay past it. She glanced around and felt as her eye suddenly caught a building, with a shaded balcony that sat on the eves of two converging roofs.

" Perfect." she whispered. Hazel took off down the street, stopping at each corner to take a quick peak of what was down that alley way before moving again. As she approached the building, looking up at the winding staircase she grasped the black handle and quickly began moving up it quickly. She glanced over her shoulder, down the rest of what she assumed was the main street in Carentan. There were people and explosions and gunfire littering the entire place. She could get just about a perfect shot from her position. 

Hazel stepped up onto the highest portion of the balcony and slowly climbed onto her stomach, placing her weapon right in front of her face, clicking her scope a few times to get the aim she desired. Then she reached h into her pocket and began loading in ammo to the Springfield, watching each German she could see from her point of view like a hawk. 

She watched the Germans rolling a larger artillery based gun that she supposed they would use on the American forces pouring into Carentan, all the way at the end of main street, where it poured into the marshes and swamps. Hazel slowly adjusted, setting her cheek against the pad of the gun, her one finger hovering near the trigger and her other resting on her scope, as she slowly clicked her magnification into focus. 

Her touch was gentle, even though the kill would be deadly. Hazel squinted her eye, biting back her lip, as her right eye, stayed focused looking through the scope, straight into one of the German's body.

" Guide me through war, through sin and fight, lead me to light," Hazel whispered, her finger on the trigger, " Lead me to light." Hazel pulled the trigger, and the bullet found its home, as Hazel quickly pulled the bolt, the next, fresh bullet locking into its place. It was as if it were D-Day again, as Hazel sat in the boiling sun atop the balcony, eyes watching every move every man below her made on the battlefield. 

" Guide me and spare me, guide and guard." she whispered, as she took her next victim's life, as his body seemed to trip and flop to the ground. 

Lizzie tripped over her feet as she got caught in more gunfire. Her luck. She slammed her arms over her head and ran towards a fallen man on the ground, where blood came from his arm. Her knees slammed onto the ground and she immediately pulled her medic satchel toward her front of flipped open the flap.

" Keep your eyes open for me," she called as she gently adjusted him, pulling the body over to a secluded building and began the morphine injection. She hastily wrapped up the wound giving it a quick tie off. 

" Hey," Lizzie said as she watched the soldier wake up from his passed out self.

" We're going to get you to the aid station and you'll be treated ok?" Lizzie said gently looking at him and he nodded. " Trust me." Lizzie's actions were quick and clean even under the pressure of the onslaught of gunfire that seemed to rain down in every possible direction. 

" Let's get you up soldier." Lizzie said, as she placed her hands under the man's armpits and lifted with all her might to get him to his feet, before looping his arm over her shoulder and moving him back behind the lines. 

Hazel remained high up, and was taking easier and quicker shots at Krauts. From across the way, she watched Lip slowly descend up a large stairwell toward a small factory-looking building. To cover his back, she slowly turned her attention to him, quickly sniping a man who appeared around the corner with a grenade. She killed the man. She watched Lip throw a grenade into the concrete building a few floors up, and explode. Then all the sudden, a loud rocking explosion rung out from the center of the town, debris shooting up above the homes.

" They got us zeroed!" Lip yelled. " Spread it out! Spread it out!" She watched as Lipton moved down the stairs calling out and yelling for people to move. Hazel stayed put, as her duty as sniper won over. She had to stay above and back watching over the company. But she watched as explosion after explosion ripped off near the center and looking for signs of large German guns nearby that she could shoot at. Shot after shot, broke out, blowing up sides of buildings and sending shrapnel everywhere, and her worry spiked. 

Lizzie jumped past an exploding building, flying to the side, her medic satchel catching her from being cut open by glass. Her feet slipped as she stood and she looked up and saw Gene ahead of her, working on another person as debris flew over top of him. Lizzie moved quickly over him and slammed next to him.

" Let me help ya!" she called over the fire and Gene nodded as the two began working together. 

Hazel could see from above the two people with medic brassards working to get someone moved over to the side. Her eyes though sought out Germans. She watched Lipton continuing telling people to move, over and over. She watched then in horror as an explosion shot right at Lip and Lip shot back, slamming into the concrete building behind him.

" Lip!" she yelled in horror, her voice cracking, as she watched the man fly to the side. Hazel shot up like a bullet, throwing her rifle on her shoulder, as she saw Germans beginning to retreat. She pressed a hand on her helmet and began racing down the metal stairs to the ground, hurrying through the streets. 

Hazel watched a German round a corner up ahead, and hurriedly grabbed the pistol from its holster and aim it straight towards his face. She cocked it quickly and shot the weapon, watching the man fall to the ground quickly in a heap, as the ground shook. She let out a quick sigh, before hurrying off, shoving the side arm into its holster again. 

Hazel raced over to Lip, just as Tab was getting there, and her heart dropped into a pit in her stomach as she slammed down to his side, not even registering Tab was right next to her. Hazel didn't hesitate to begin pulling the spare bandage in her aid kit from her pouch as she glanced towards his wound. She shoved it into Tab's hands as she drew up onto Lip's side.

" Hey, Lip." Hazel said with a small smile, " You're going to be ok." Lip watched her, barely registering or even moving his head in acknowledgment as he did so. Hazel gave him a nod before glancing back at Tab who watched her. 

" Hey, buddy." Tab said, anxiously watching Lip struggle to remain conscious. Lip's eyes didn't move from his legs. Hazel met Tab's eyes who traveled to where Lip was looking. Tab reached forward and pulled open where the shrapnel had hit. Hazel watched Tab sigh.

" You're ok, Lip. Everything's right where it should be." Tab reassured Lip who couldn't speak. Hazel gently placed her hands on either side of his terrified face and shell shocked eyes. 

" Hey, Lip," she said and he registered her, " You're okay, okay? Tab and I are gonna get you to a med station." Lip nodded anxiously and she nodded with a forced smile to calm him. She looked at Tab with a nod.

" Come on, upsy-daisy." Tab said as Tab and Hazel got on both sides of Lip and helped him to his feet. Then the trio was off, moving their beloved NCO towards the aid station.


	41. the duty of a combat medic

" One of the most important things you can do on this Earth is to let people know they are not alone."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Lizzie had long ago helped Gene get the man they aided to the side, before taking off again. She continued to help fallen soldiers to cover or the side, treating their wounds before moving on to the next person, wanting to help each and every one. 

Lizzie picked her way carefully through the rubble, as spare bullet rounds occasionally whizzed past once and a while. Lizzie crouched beside a brick wall and glanced around the corner, digging into her medic satchel and taking inventory of what remained in her pack. As a bullet, which she had predicted to fly by at some point, flew by, she slowly stood, holding her helmet to her head as she crossed the street to the other side and slowly began making her way down another alley way. 

She stopped at the sight in front of her that broke her already wounded heart.

" Lieb." she whispered, as her hand fell from her satchel and she slowly walked forward. Tipper was covered in blood and wounds, shaking in Liebgott's comforting arms. Tip had always been there, through all the training, all the moments with Sobel and his mixed up maps. But Lizzie trudged forward and gently approached the situation with a calming nature. 

" Hey there, Tip." Lizzie whispered stepping forward and crouching in front of him, looking close at his one eye that was open wide and fearful. Lieb watched as Lizzie carefully assessed the wounds and gently talked to Tipper, calming him down with her voice and gentle touches the entire time. Lizzie watched as his entire body shook in fear as Joe held him so gently and comfortingly against his body. Lizzie gently brought up her hands to smooth some of the blood from his facial features, like his mouth and nose.

" There you go." Lizzie said, " You'll be okay, I promise." Tip let out a shaky breath as Joe watched her earnestly.

" I'm gonna get you evacuated safely, okay?" Lizzie said, bringing her hand to Tip's hand, and Tipper nodded.

" Help me move him, Joe." she said Joe nodded, shaken up as well from what she could tell. Lizzie stood on the other side as Joe lifted Tipper to his feet. Lizzie moved to wrap Tipper's other arm around her neck before they began walking him to where the sign hung for the suspected aid station, as bleak rounds came back from the retreating Germans that moved into the field, the marshes and the hedgerows around that of Carentan. 

When the trio arrived at the aid station, Lizzie carefully, with help from Joe, lowered Tipper onto a bed, adjusting the pillow under his head as he did so.

" Hey, Tip, I'm going to grab a few things and then I'll be right with you, okay? You'll be okay." Lizzie said, gently leaning forward to brush some hair from his face.

" Thanks, Lizzie.' he said in a mumbled heap and Lizzie nodded. She looked up at Joe who watched Tip.

" Help me grab a few things?" Lizzie asked Joe watching him. Joe nodded slowly before turning and following Lizzie to where she had seen a bunch of boxes being stored, mostly of medical supplies. Lizzie arrived at a box and then turned to Joe. 

" What happened, Joe?" Lizzie asked him.

" I shouldn't of left him in there, I though he was outside already." Joe said shaking his head as his face evidently paled and pure horror struck his features. 

" Hey," Lizzie said, " hey, Joe, don't worry it's okay. Tip will be fine, now I'm just wondering if you will be too."

" I'll be fine, Doc," Joe told her meeting her eye, " it's just Tip, I thought he was out of the building." 

" What happened?" she asked Joe, as she pulled out some bandages.

" We blew up to house because we thought no one was left inside when he still was." Joe said. Lizzie nodded gently. 

" How about you go get some air, alright?" Lizzie said, " Tip will be fine here, I'll make sure of it." Joe watched her, and then he slowly nodded.

" Drink some water too." Lizzie called as Joe stepped out of the medic station. Lizzie turned and grabbed a few more things from the boxes before heading back over to Tip who lay quietly on the bed, groaning a bit with each movement. But what surprised Lizzie more was that Hazel and Tab were currently placing Lip down in the bed next to Lip. 

" Lip?" Lizzie said as Hazel glanced her way, Tab's eyes following.

" He took a nasty hit right in the groin." Hazel confirmed, " We brought him here." 

" Okay," Lizzie said, nodding," I'll get someone on him. Tip took a hit as well." Lizzie watched Hazel looked down and Tab follow and their expressions visibly saddened.

" Hey, Lip." Lizzie said as she approached him, to hopefully calm the NCO and the sniper.

" Let me just take a peak." she said and ripped open the hole a bit more to look at the groin wound.

" We'll get you taken care of, Lip." Lizzie said, rubbing his shoulder as Lip nodded, looking shell-shocked. Lizzie slowly stood wiping the blood from her finger tips.

" How about you two get some air? Lieb wasn't looking too good either." Lizzie said.

" What's wrong with Joe?" Hazel asked, taking a gentle step forward.

" Whatever happened with Tip's got him real shaken up." Lizzie said, with a nod, " I think you should just check up on him and make sure he's okay. I told him to drink but he was in a different world."

" I will." Hazel said with a nod, as she scratched her head. 

" You'll be okay with these two?" Tab asked Lizzie.

" Yeah, yeah," Lizzie said, " I'll be fine, you two head out. I'm sure the men need rounding up." 

" Yeah," Tab said and placed a hand on Hazel's shoulder, " c'mon Hazel." Hazel gave a glance back at Lip and Tip and gave a small smile before Tab lead her out of the med station. Lizzie turned to Lip and gently wiped the layer of nervous sweat collecting on his forehead.

" Hey!" Lizzie called turning towards some of the medics milling about, " Can I get someone to start cleaning him up?" 

" Yes, ma'am." one of the medics from the 502nd called. He was the youngest out of them all, and when Lizzie first met him, albeit, skittish and a bit jumpy, but he meant well and Lizzie trusted his instinct.

" Groin wound," Lizzie informed when the man came over to her, with bandages in his grasp and some cream in the other. The medic nodded before getting to work. Lizzie went over to Tip again and gently pulled up and stool with the water bucket and wet cloth to begin working on the wound of his face, wiping off the blood, cleaning the bits of open flesh that scattered across his facial features. Then suddenly she heard a crash behind her and watched as Albert Blithe slid off the arm of Skip. 

" Buddy, c'mon." Skip said, trying to adjust him.

" Hey," Lizzie said coming forward, " what's going on?"

" Lizzie, oh thank god," Skip said, " Al says he can't see." Lizzie offered a curious gaze.

" Can't see?" 

" Yep. Can't see nothing." Skip confirmed. Lizzie slowly crouched in front of Albert and waved a gentle hand in front of his facial features. His pupils made no move of registering something in front of them.

" Thanks, Skip." Lizzie said with a nod to him and he smiled with a nod before heading out again. 

" Hey, Al, it's me. Lizzie." Lizzie said, sitting criss-cross applesauce beside him.

' Lizzie." Albert said quietly, " I can't see." 

" I know." Lizzie said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, " How about you sit in here for a bit? It's probably just hysterical blindness." She'd read up on that a while ago, and always thought it was a rather curious thing to acquire, but it seemed Albert had stumbled upon it.

" Okay," Albert said nodding, as a few tears spiked his eyes. She figured she'd leave him alone to gather his emotions. She slowly stood and turned only before Gene caught her arm.

" He okay?" Gene asked nodding to Albert as Lizzie wiped her hands.

" Says he can't see." Lizzie said quietly, " Hysterical blindness." Gene nodded.

" We'll keep an eye on him, let him sit for a bit." Lizzie offered, " See if it wards off a bit." Gene nodded. Lizzie smiled softly and then left him to head back over to Tip and Lip, where the medic from the 502nd was working diligently on Lip.

" Sorry, Tip," Lizzie said as she gently wiped around his puffy eye.

" It's okay, Lizzie." Tip said, still shaking quite a bit.

" I'm going to make sure you get evacuated safely, okay?" Lizzie said, as she brushed more blood from his neck and chin. He nodded. That's all she ever wanted for the men she aided. For evacuation to be the easy part and not the part they were to worry about. 

Once Hazel stepped outside, she glanced at Tab who looked around at the mess of the battlefield. Parts of the road still smoking from explosions that had rattled the city, little fires in different places, the hot sun casting a sort of warm blanket over the group in the form of hot wind.

" I'm going to try and find Joe." Hazel said to Tab.

" Yeah you do that, I'm going to try and find some of the NCOs." Tab said to her and she nodded, before heading off in search of her friend, whom was now worrying her. 

From what Lizzie had told her, she knew Joe would be upset because he and Tipper were friends. She couldn't imagine what Joe was feeling, but in a way she could. Hazel couldn't fathom Catherine and her injury and the pain it was to be taken from the battle like that. Hazel continued to walk through the little town of Carentan searching for Joe, her worry spiking for him. 

Hazel found him sat outside of a building on a lone street where dust and wind slowly crept down the alley, blowing a stray piece of paper through. Hazel stared at him, her heart racing, as he sat with his head in his hands.

" Joe?" Hazel asked quietly. Joe didn't move like he usually did at the sound of her voice, instead it was like he was frozen in a trance. 

" Joe?" Hazel tried again taking a step forward toward him.

" Hazel, I'm fine." Joe said back, his voice coming out in more of a shaky gasp. Hazel stopped in her tracks looking at him, her heart in her throat. Joe was her friend, one of her best friends and it hurt seeing him like this, for she never saw him like this. He hid it if he was. 

" Joe-"

" Hazel, I said I'm fine." Joe snapped looking up at her with grief stricken eyes. Hazel narrowed her eyes at him, and stepped closer. She could tell something was wrong. And if she let him alone, it would grow worse. Joe stared up at her.

" I don't care if I have to sit by your side and not say a word, but I'm your friend, Joe." Hazel said, 

" And I trust you, and I'm not going to leave you alone to suffer. Because I let that happen to me and it broke me. I won't watch my friend go through that." Joe watched as Hazel then walked over and sat down next to him and stared forward, eyes narrowed and alert.

" I heard about Tipper," Hazel whispered, her voice suddenly gentle again. She looked up at Joe sadly, " I'm sorry." Joe watched her eyes. They were calming. And they were eyes he trusted. 

" I didn't mean to snap at you." Joe said in a shaky voice, looking at her.

" I know," Hazel said, and gently rubbed his arm with a small smile.

Truth be told, Joe Liebgott for her was nothing to fear. He had outbursts, but he was human. Hazel understood that. Her father was human, but his outbursts destroyed the family instead. Joe had a right to be upset, her father was suffering like everyone else, but couldn't deal with it, even though Hazel and her mother could.

" It's ok to be upset." Hazel said to him, " Even in war." Joe watched her and bit his lip. 

" I shouldn't have let him go in that house alone, Tiny." Joe said to her shaking his head, and running a hand through his chocolate locks. Hazel looked at him, and offered a small smile.

" You did what you could, Joe." Hazel said softly, " We can't prevent all that happens in war." Joe looked at her.

" I couldn't have left him in the house, I could've made sure he left the house with me." Joe muttered out. Hazel looked at him.

" But you were there for him Joe after, and he'll be safely evacuated because of you." Hazel said softly. Joe looked at her and nodded. She was right. 

" Thanks, Hazel." Joe said quietly, " For not leaving my side." Hazel smiled at him.

" What are best friends for?" Hazel said softly to him and Hazel smiled when she saw the smile on his own face appear. 

Lizzie was sitting by Lip's side as the medic from the 502nd was writing out the paper work. Lizzie had just said her farewell to Tipper, whom she knew she would miss, just because Tipper was just always there for a smile and a good time and a good laugh. Lizzie would miss him. Lizzie looked at Lip, who wasn't as knocked out as he had been before hand and smiled at him sadly as he glanced over at her.

" I'm getting evacuated aren't I?" he asked her and Lizzie nodded, grasping his hand. 

" Yeah, I'm sorry, Lip." she said as Lip smiled at her.

" It's war, Lizzie." he said, " It was going to happen at some point."

" How's Hazel? She looked pale." Lip asked Lizzie.

" I think she's ok. She went in search of Liebgott actually, after what happened." Lizzie explained. Lip smiled.

" Two peas in a pod, those two are." Lip said and Lizzie laughed a bit, as she leaned back and grabbed some painkillers.

" When do you think I'll get back?" he asked her.

" Maybe a month or so, depends on how long your wound takes to heal." Lizzie said as the medic looked up at her with a nod.

" He's good to go." the medic said and walked away.

" You're going to heal up real good, Lip, I know it." she said and squeezed his hand extra tight and Lip smiled.

" Thank you again Lizzie." he said and squeezed her hand back. Then he nodded to behind her.

" Make sure Doc Roe keeps eating, he looks a bit worn." Lip told her. 

" Always." Lizzie said and squeezed his hand extra tight. Gene was a little stress ball sometimes, and Lizzie always tried to take that stress off him whenever she could and dutifully remain by his side. Lizzie stepped back and watched as Lip was taken away before looking over towards Gene, who was working on, surprisingly, Lieutenant Winters. Lizzie raised a concerned brow and then grabbed a rag to wipe her hands, as she began walking over.

" Sir," Lizzie said walking over as she wiped her hands. Winters looked towards her.

" Hey, Lizzie." Winters said then grimaced. Lizzie offered a tiny smile towards the Lieutenant.

" There she is." Gene said, pulling the 'bullet' it looked like from the wound with tweezers. 

" You're lucky it was a ricochet." Gene said as Winters leaned forward for Gene to put the little piece in a tin. " You just caught a piece of it."

" Stupid." Winters told himself, making Lizzie and Gene look up, even at the mere mention of Winters remotely saying anything negative. 

" What?" Gene asked with soft yet alert eyes. Winters shook his head.

" Now, you gonna be able to stay off it?" Gene asked him, cleaning the wound. 

" Doesn't look that way." Winters said.

" Well, you gotta try, huh?" Gene asked as Buck appeared at Lizzie's and Winters' side. 

" What have you got planned, chief?" Buck asked.

" Well, we expect a counterattack." Winters said, " Carentan's as important to them as it is to us."

" Any idea when?" Buck asked, as Lizzie looked down at her slightly red, bloodied hands.

" We're not waiting around to find out." Winters said.

" Battalion wants us to head east toward high ground, set up a defensive position. With all the flooded fields, it's the only direction they could approach from." Winters stated.

" Yeah." Buck said glancing at where Gene was working on the wound. 

" You gonna be alright?" Buck asked him.

" Yep." Winters answered quickly. " Yeah." 

" Good." Buck said, then turning and leaving. Gene continued working on his wound as Lizzie stood there with a concerned face, looking at Winters. 

" What's wrong with Blithe?" Winters asked Gene. Gene looked up at Winters and then over to the man who Lizzie noticed was sitting on the floor, staring off into a different dimension.

" Well, nothing, except he can't see." Gene said, dabbing at Winters' leg again. 

" He can't see?" Winters asked quietly.

" So he says." Gene said. 

" Hysterical blindness." Lizzie said quietly, looking at Winters with a sad smile. Gene went to go back to cleaning the wound, but Winters gave him a look, and Gene nodded, as Winters struggled to get to his feet, and limp over to Blithe. Lizzie turned her head ever so slightly and watched as Winters slowly knelt down in front of Blithe, attempting his best to try and talk to him. Lizzie glanced towards Gene, who was getting more medical bandages prepared for WInters.

" How're you doing, Lizzie?" Gene asked her as he began wiping his hands. 

" Okay," she said with a tiny smile, " Lip's being evacuated. He told me to watch out for you." Gene smiled at her.

" I think I should be the one doing that instead." Gene told her as Lizzie smiled at him. The company always worried for the medics the most; they saw the most war that the rest of them would ever see. They had to carry that scars of the dead and the wounds of the barely alive and witness it first hand. That's when the two noticed Winters stood up, and was making his way back towards the two.

" Sir," suddenly came Blithe's voice. Winters turned to look at Blithe as well as Lizzie and Gene's head turned as well.

" Yeah, what it is?" Winters asked him. Lizzie glanced at Gene as she watched Blithe look up to Winters.

" Thank you, sir." Blithe said. Winters stared at him, straight faced and a little confused.

" I'm okay." Blithe said as he moved to get to his feet, squeezing his eyes open and closed again. 

" Yeah, I'm okay." Blithe said, stepping forward as Gene slowly stood to his feet looking outside.

" I'm okay." Blithe repeated as Lizzie, the shortest of the 3 men, stepped into the little square of them, looking towards Blithe. 

" I think I'm okay." Blithe said, reassuring himself as he looked at the trio staring at him.

" You can see?" Winters asked him. 

" God," Blithe said, rubbing his eye, " I don't know what happened. I think I, I think I'm okay." Winters glanced at Gene, who was looking at Blithe.

" Alright." Winters said. " Uh, well, stay here a little while longer...and uh, make sure. And then you can report back to your platoon." Blithe looked up and nodded.

" Yes, sir," he said quietly before slowly moving past Winters and the other two. Lizzie and Winters turned as Blithe slowly walked away and out of the med station. Winters glanced towards Gene, as if he had the answer, but Gene just raised his eyebrows with a shake of the head. Winters looked back to where Blithe had gone as Lizzie bit her lip.

" Now, can we get that bandage on?" Gene asked Winters. 

" Yeah." Winters said before turning and moving to sit back down. Winters looked over at the exhausted blonde haired medic, as she looked around with tired eyes, before bending down to pick up a dirty bandage.

" You okay, Doc?" Winters asked her as Gene began wrapping up the wound on his lower leg.

" Yes, sir." Lizzie affirmed with a small smile, " Just making sure everyone's okay." Winters nodded.

" Ma'am?" a voice called and Lizzie looked at the back door to see another man being hauled inside. 

" Excuse me, sir." Lizzie said as she hurried over towards them. Winters watched her go and met Gene's eyes. Gene gave him a shortened smile before focusing back on the leg. 

Medics and their duties. 

They went hand in hand. 

And damn they were good at their jobs. 


	42. the counteroffensive

" I'm not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship." 

_\- Louisa May Alcott_

✰✰✰

The NCOs managed to round up a majority of the men to start following the direction of where the Germans, went to defend the counteroffensive that was planned. They were to defend Carentan at all costs so the supplies on the Normandy beaches could continue their move inland. 

Lizzie had cleaned up what she could with Gene and the rest of the Easy Company medics before they headed out, with bloodied hands. The sun was out, shining brightly down on the soldiers that moved across the field. Lizzie was beside her 1st platoon buddies again, Perconte, Luz and Hoobler. She had missed them.

" Hey, Luz." Perconte started.

" What?" Luz asked, as Lizzie looked up from where she was walking next to Luz.

" How far we going?" Perconte exclaimed. Lizzie smirked.

" Did you even look at those sand tables, Perco?" Lizzie asked the man beside her. Frank gave her a look.

" Yes, Lizzie, but all I'm saying is that, we've been walking for a while, we won't be defending Carentan no more if we're not even close by it now." Frank said, " So honestly, how far we gonna end up going?"

" Oh, Jesus Christ, Frank, I don't know." whined George, hearing enough talk from his friend.

" Until they tell tell us to stop."

" High ground." Hoobler said. " There's high ground up ahead." 

" Okay, genius, answer me this then:" Perconte started as Luz and Lizzie started chuckling.

" Why is Easy Company the only company who's either at the front of an advance or, like now, exposed at the far edge of the line?" 

" We're Easy Company, remember Frank?" Lizzie muttered, " We're always on the edges."

" To keep you on your toes." Hoobler stated, adding onto Lizzie's fact.

" No," Perconte started and Lizzie laughed, " that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that we're never in the middle. And we're the fifth of nine companies of this regiment. Able through Item. Think of it."

" How about you just walk, Perco?" Lizzie said through a laugh.

" See there, you see that?" Hoobler said pointing forward. Suddenly, gunshots ripped across the field. Luz pulled Lizzie to the ground and she slammed harshly onto the dirt. She let out a groan at the impact.

" Incoming!" someone yelled. 

" No shit!" Lizzie heard someone call from a few people back.

" Contact right! Get in the hedgerow!" Welsh called up ahead. Luz slowly helped Lizzie toward the hedgerow, and she pulled herself forward, with the radio man next to her, with each crawl movement forward. Shots continued ripping out across the entire group, and explosions rattled the now empty field behind them. Chaos ensued across the entire field, as leaders began yelling and calling out, and ordering instructions that dissipated into thin air. 

" Medic!" came a call, and Lizzie turned, ripping from Luz's grasp.

" Lizzie!" Luz called, but she turned and hurried back where the chaos was, helping a fallen man to the side under a hedgerow and began assessing his wounds. 

" Luz, get down here with the radio now!" Welsh yelled, and Luz cursed himself, looking away from where Lizzie had disappeared and flipped toward Welsh quickly. The men tried their best at fighting back against the retreated Germans. 

Lizzie assessed the man's wounds and quickly ripped open a packet of sulfa with her teeth and poured the sulfa into the bullet wound. Lizzie looked up as an explosion rattled off near her, and she screamed a deafening scream that shot fear through Luz when he heard it. Lizzie collapsed next to the man, grasping at her arm, grimacing the entire time, fighting through the pain that encased her. Lizzie reached up to touch her arm and she immediately felt the graze of where the bullet had fiercely touched her skin. She sat up again in pain and reached around the man wrapping the wound the best she could through the immense pain she felt. The gunfire slowly seized, and as Lizzie laid there she began to feel light headed. She knew she would pass out soon.

" Lizzie!" came Luz's voice, as she slowly stood up, hissing a bit at the blood coming from her arm. Luz appeared around the corner and saw the girl, pale and in pain, with blood coming from her arm. 

" Lizzie," Luz said coming forward, " hey, you're okay." Lizzie grasped onto him as Luz caught her from stumbling to the ground.

" What happened?" he asked her as Lizzie managed to catch his eye. 

" I don't know," she said, gulping a bit as she became thirsty, " but we need to get this man behind the lines."

" You're bleeding," Luz said.

" I know," Lizzie said as she shifted a bit walking and grimaced a bit, " we need to find Gene."

" Come on," George said as he wrapped an arm around her to lead her toward where he had seen the other medic go.

" It's just a bullet graze, I'll be fine." Lizzie grimaced out as she began to sweat cold sweat and her mouth became cotton dry.

" Doc!" George called. Gene came hurrying through the trees and collapsed by their side as George gently lowered Lizzie to the ground.

" What happened?" Gene asked, as he pulled her arm into his lap. She couldn't speak, dizzy and sweaty.

" She said uh, it was a bullet wound graze?" George tried. 

" Right," Gene said as he pulled a bandage out, " she'll be okay." Gene was able to patch her up, but the dizzy feeling never left her system.

" There's a guy back there who needs to be taken behind the lines, he's injured." Lizzie said to Gene.

" Okay." Gene said as he shoved away the bandage.

" I'll come with you." Lizzie said standing.

" Stay here, keep drinking some water until you don't feel light-headed, you'll be okay." Gene said to her before jumping out of the hedgerow and moving on down the line. 

As it rained that night, Lizzy was able to let the rain hit her skin and slowly let herself heal a bit from the wound. She resided in a foxhole with Bull, her head spinning a mile a minute, her eye sight unfocused and her body drained. Gene though had told her to stay in the foxhole and make sure she healed up to her full potential. She trusted him on that notion, and George made sure of it before he moved to his own foxhole. 

That night, Hazel and Tab did the first few hours of watch along the line. Tab had become like a big brother, always checking up on her, making sure she was okay. He was like Catherine. The two of them were always checking up on Hazel. So, there she was, walking next to Talbert in their ponchos, his a German one, as the rain pelted down on their figures, and created a muddy slush beneath their feet.

" Where'd you get that poncho, Tab?" Hazel asked him, as she held herself back from jumping into a mud puddle like a kid.

" Well," Tab started, " we met up with the 502nd, you know Shifty, Elizabeth, Smokey and I, and on D plus 1, we had a run in with some Krauts. It didn't end to well for them afterward." Hazel glanced up at him from under her poncho and the rim of her helmet.

" Ah, I see." she said with a nod, " Figured it provided more camouflage?"

" Clearly not there Tiny, if we killed them." Tab said and Hazel snickered softly, as she grasped the strap on her shoulder tighter.

" Did you get any souvenirs, besides that poncho?" Hazel asked him, as she narrowly avoided another mud pit. 

" Nah, I was too busy with this thing." Tab said, " You?"

" No, but I almost had an Edelweiss flower." Hazel said and Tab chuckled.

" Yeah, I would've expected that from you." Tab said as Hazel grinned.

" Do you even know what an Edelweiss is?" she asked him as Tab smirked at her.

" Of course I do." he said. Hazel looked at him with wide eyes from under the brim of her helmet.

" Don't give me that look." Tab said and Hazel smirked proudly to herself.

" What look?"

" Oh you know the one that lets me know that I have no recollection of what an Edelweiss flower is." Tab said and Hazel giggled. 

" It's just the mark of a true soldier, Lieb told me the soldiers can get them high up in the Alps of Germany and Austria." Hazel said, " It's white with a yellow center. I think it's rather beautiful."

" Oh well thank God I didn't say anything." Tab said and Hazel glanced at him.

" Why?"

" I was thinking it was a daisy." Tab said and Hazel laughed, but clamped her mouth shut as they were in the darkness, in the rain, of the night. The two continued on, walking along the hedgerow, watching as others bedded down into their foxholes, the slushy pits of watery mud awaiting them as they did so. The Germans had been singing the entire time they were walking along, singing in the middle of the war, in the middle of a rain storm. And they were singing. 

" Can you fucking believe it?" Tab said shaking his head, " Singing, in a downpour." Hazel just smirked.

" I can." a voice said and the two turned to see Harry Welsh approaching them with the canteen that most definitely had anything but water in it. 

" Evening, sir." Tab said as the Lieutenant with a goofy smile on his face stepped in between the two, taking a sip from the canteen, a meagerly coughing the last bit down.

" You hear that?" Welsh said, as they stood there.

" Uh, yeah, it's called rain." Tab said, and Hazel forced herself not to laugh.

" Nah, not that Sergeant, I'm talking about the singing." Welsh said, looking between the two. Hazel offered a smile. 

" Kitty used to sing." Welsh said and Hazel offered a raised brow.

" Who's Kitty, sir?" Hazel asked him. 

" The love of my life." Welsh said looking at her, and Hazel's heart grew mushy; that was adorable, even if he were slightly drunken.

" Singing brings me back, ya know, the days in Wilkes-Barre, standing in her kitchen, listening to her sing those songs on the radio," Welsh said, " the singing's a comfort." 

" You know, I had a knack for it back in Kokomo-"

' Sergeant Talbert, I mean no offense, but I think I'd rather hear those Krauts sing, but thank you." Welsh said and Hazel laughed at Tab's face in response.

" Um, what are you doing so close to the line, sir?" Hazel asked him, she figured he'd be back with the other Lieutenants perhaps. 

" You know, taking a swing past hell's gate, nothing out of the norm." Welsh said sipping from his canteen, " What about you two? You're rather close."

" Oh, rounds, sir, we got duty." Tab said.

" Oh, right, rounds," Welsh said, " well I'll leave you two to it." 

" Thank you, sir." Hazel said with a nod. Then the two watched the tiny Irishman walk away, a bit of a jump in his step as he took another swig from his canteen before placing it back on his belt.

" That's definitely not just water." Hazel muttered beside Tab, who let out a snort. 

" Definitely not, Tiny." Tab said and Hazel grinned as the two set off again on their rounds. Now, as Hazel thought about the Germans singing, all she could envision was a drunk Harry Welsh in a beautiful woman's kitchen, listening to the love of his life, singing.

" What a character." Tab commented as the man disappeared into the darkness of the hedgerow.

" Got that right," Hazel said, " but I've always liked him, even from the start. He seems fun to be around, lucky for Catherine." Tab nodded with a smirk.

" Oh yeah, I'd want to see drinking games between those two." Tab said and Hazel grinned. 

" Wait, how old are you even?" Tab asked her suddenly, looking at her with wide eyes.

" 19." she said with a nod, " I'll be 20 on the 22nd of July." 

" No wonder I never saw you drink once." Tab said, " Technically you're in Europe and can be drinking, but you don't seem like a rule breaker necessarily." Hazel giggled, and her cheeks burned a bit. That was her, she never usually broke the rules, it was just her personality.

" I can promise you though, on that 22nd of 1945 then, I'll be making sure you'll somehow be getting a drink, even if I have to pull Lieutenant Welsh's canteen from his grasp." Tab said and Hazel laughed. 

" You do that, Tab." Hazel said and he laughed loudly. The two continued on their rounds or mini patrol really until they were to switch out with Bill and Joe Toye.

" You here those fuckers singing?" Bill said as he pulled on his poncho, " Oh I'll show them singing." 

" Cause you know, you just have the greatest voice out there." Toye muttered.

" Shut it, Joe," Bill said, " hey, I'll make you sing."

" I can sing." Joe said, pulling on his as Hazel helped him up and out of the foxhole. 

" Whatever you want Joe, just please anything to drown out that noise." Bill said. Toye smirked.

" You guys see anything?" Toye asked the two.

" Nothing, except a drunk Lieutenant Welsh." Tab said.

" He still got stuff in there?" Bill asked. Tab smirked.

" Oh yeah, came up to Tiny and I talking about the love of his life, Kitty." Tab said.

" It was cute," Hazel countered, " even if he were drunk." 

" I'll take your word for it, kiddo." Bill said and Hazel grinned.

" Have fun guys," she called.

" I'll try not to." Bill called back as Joe snickered.

" I'll see you tomorrow, Tab." Hazel said waving to the man who gave her a tiny mock salute back, something he'd picked up on from Lizzie. 

Hazel sighed as she turned, heading through the wet leaves of the low hanging trees and bushes around the place towards the foxhole she was sharing with Liebgott, situated near the medics and a few of the machine gunners like Alton and Smokey. She headed on her way through, but then heard a strangled cry from behind her, just a few yards back. She froze, feet poised and held still. 

What was that? 

There was a sudden cry for a medic, erupting across the entirety of Easy Company and their foxholes, as the cold rain, pelted down coming down harder onto the poncho that stuck to her skin. Hazel slowly turned and heard another call for a medic erupt from the same person's mouth.

It was Tab. 

Hazel took off through the forest toward the voice. As she approached the froze at the sight. What scared her most was that she had just been with Tab and now here he was. Liebgott was on top of Talbert, pulling up his shirt and poncho, as Gene was ripping open his bag, and Lizzie was coming through on the other side. 

There was a private in the foxhole, flabbergasted. 

Hazel felt her knees go weak as she watched Tab cry out in pain, and wriggled around as Liebgott, Gene and Lizzie attempted to calm him or fill the wound. More footsteps walked forward toward the group and everyone looked over except the two medics and Tab. It was Lieutenant Speirs.

" What's going on here?" he asked, as the rain dropped heavily on his helmet, and glanced towards Tab.

" Smith thought that Talbert was a Kraut, sir." Joe said with a nod, looking back from Tab and noticing Hazel.

" What'd he do?" Speirs asked.

" Bayoneted him, sir," Liebgott said standing up. Hazel looked toward Speirs and Speirs seemingly noticed that Hazel was wide-eyed. They were just talking together, and things just seemed to happen now, like a snap of the fingers. 

She sighed to herself. But it was war.

" We gotta move him." Gene said to Lizzie, as she moved to his head and Gene moved to his feet. Hazel watched as the two medics lifted Tab into the air, crying out and wriggling, and then slowly walked off with him into the darkness. Why hadn't she said anything? Standing here watching him go off and she couldn't even say a word. 

" Get some rest, Corporal." Speirs told her. She glanced up towards him and bit her lip. He nodded.

" Come on, Tiny." Joe said as he walked towards her. Hazel slowly moved to Joe's side and the two soldiers walked away side by side into the darkness. When Joe and Hazel reached their foxhole, Hazel was frozen staring forward, eyes glazed over. 

" He was right there, Lieb." Hazel whispered softly.

" Hey," Joe said and placed a hand on her knee, " just like you told me. He'll be fine, we got there in time. And I'm not leaving your side." Hazel looked up at him with a tiny smile. 

He was right. 


	43. battle of bloody gulch

" Onward then, to glory and some such nonsense."

_\- Brandon Sanderson, Words of Raidance_

✰✰✰

The following morning, brought a warm, humid heat, and the twittering of bugs that lay in the hedgerow and flooded out fields. It was D-Day plus 7, and the battle at Carentan felt long behind them. Lizzie and Gene had gotten back late in the night after taking Tab to a field hospital, and making sure he was evacuated to safety. 

Lizzie sat next to Gene and Luz in a foxhole, where her and Gene were able to gather their wits and the supplies. Lizzie's hair was in a low messy bun, with some hairs framing her face, as she felt the sweat begin to encase her body. She had trouble sleeping last night after the whole thing with Tab, even thought it had been an honest mistake. Still, hearing the cries of terror weren't exactly what she hoped to fall asleep to last night. Not too far away sat Welsh with a handful of the NCOs, going over multiple plans it seemed. She couldn't exactly hear what they were saying, but she supposed that if the NCOs of Easy knew, that Easy would be in good hands. 

Hazel had been escorted away from the front lines by that of Lieutenant Winters, as she sat with the rest of the mortar squads that were up on a grassy hill, where they could make just the right calculations when firing. When Hazel had arrived up at the grassy hill she immediately caught sight of Skip, Malarkey and Penkala and happily moved over towards them after WInters had showed her the anticipated position she would be in when the attack was initially made.

" Hey there Tiny Parker!" Skip called out towards her as she approached with the giant sniper in her grasp.

" Hey, how're you all doing?" she asked as she slowed her pace nearing the trio.

" Fine as we'll ever be." Penkala said and Hazel grinned at him, " You?"

" Managed to get some rest in all that rain last night, even though Lieb couldn't stop the snoring at about 0400, thought he'd start waking up those Germans across the way." Hazel said as the trio broke into chuckles at her comment.

" The guys got a set of vocal chords let me give you that." Skip said, " I'm pretty sure you heard about Lieutenant Welsh though."

" Yes, the only constant in this war so far." Hazel said with a nod as her helmet shifted. The trio grinned.

" Ain't no way that's water, I'm surprised he still has stuff in there." Malarkey said and Hazel snickered, " He's hauling around that reserve chute though, I mean he can't start shoving those Vat 69's down in there can he?"

" No, Nixon would've gotten them before he could even get his hands on those." Penkala said as the group continued laughing.

" Hey, Tiny, heard you shot one of those Krauts right through the head, with a pistol?" Malarkey asked her eagerly. 

" Yeah, I did actually, after I saw Lip go down," Hazel said with a nod, pulling the sidearm from its holster and holding it out in front of her, " during cold weather training, Thermes had me firing these daily, even at 0100 sometimes on those 3 day missions. He usually said that he hoped it woke up all the 82nd boys." The group snorted and chuckled together watching the girl talk.

" Was Thermes really that bad?" Skip asked.

" Eh, I mean, he surely wasn't Sobel, he actually had a clue of direction. He was very much about the whole I'm your leader, I'm doing everything with you. 5 miles runs even by week 13 were with him in full gear, half gear, all that stuff. But he usually pulled this siren thing in the middle of the night even, and we'd have to drop to the ground and get in between the beds and stuff. He liked to call that a 'fun evening'." Hazel explained and the trio stared wide eyed at her.

" A fun evening?" Penkala asked her and she nodded with a small smile.

" It seems whenever we were out past 2300, it was called a fun evening, no matter what. He put on this stupid posh accent too, Thermes was a character." Hazel said as the group chuckled, " But he prepared me, really well, for all of this, I feel without him, those group of women I trained with to become Viragos would've never gotten where they are today." The 3 mens' eyes turned soft.

" Have you talked to any recently?" Skip asked her.

" I only know where they come from, their homes, once we were broken up in December of '42, we didn't know where we'd be stationed to keep in contact. I hope I can see them again at some point. They truly were the ones that got be through that training besides Catherine and Lizzie." Hazel said with a grin.

" Well, I hope that you do get to see these oh-so-lovely ladies again, because they sound wonderful." Skip said. 

" They were." Hazel said, " And now I'm here with you guys and I'm grateful." The trio smiled.

" We're glad you're here too," Penkala said, " I mean you were already intimidating, but now that we've seen you in action, I mean I would not want to be a Kraut." Hazel smiled shyly at them. 

" No doubt about it, I'd be terrified." Skip said as the group broke into chuckles.

" Hey, you all might want to get in your positions, it looks like this thing is gonna crank up within seconds!" one of the Sergeants in the other mortar squad called to them. 

" Will do." Skip called before turning back tot he girl, " Good luck, Tiny." Hazel gave a mock salute, one that many members of Easy were picking up in play from Lizzie Elliot as a way to show the person you heard them, but you'll see them again. It was a cute little comforting mechanism. Hazel moved straight through the grass towards a shaded region that provided a clear shot towards the battlefield where she could easily scope and shoot. Hazel slowly got down on her knees and she pulled the rifle from her shoulder and set its position up clearly. She brushed off a few specks of dirt before pushing to her stomach and adjusting the front bipod a bit. She looked through the scope, a bit foggy from the dry humidity, before squinting her eye and watching down on the battlefield. 

Her gaze was quiet as usual, moving about the entire field, eye watching every move a person visible made. She pulled the poncho on over herself and pulled it up and over her helmet and her head, until only her eye was visible through the bush and through the scope. She sat waiting, the finger near the trigger, waiting for the first explosion to finally ring out. Hazel sat behind the weapon for a while, waiting silently, not even moving as bugs landed atop her poncho or the wind brushed against her body. She sat utterly still, for if she moved, any German who moved on that field could then possibly see her. 

That's when a whistling sound echoed overhead and she watched as a mortar was shot up and into the sky, flying directly towards the hedgerow where Easy Company sat. Hazel knew it was time for weapons to be drawn. She heard Easy's gunfire open up from their side of the hedgerow and slowly began to watch the battle unfold in front of them. Hazel was silent as she caught sight of her first victim, as the world seemed to shake with suck force that she wasn't sure the ground was capable of.

" Lord be my strength through war and sin, lord guide me and guard me." she whispered a tiny prayer that seemed to stick when she now fired this rifle. She slowly pulled the trigger and watched as the sniper went sailing straight forward into the German's head, knocking him quickly to the ground. No emotion filled her face, as she pulled the bolt back, locking the new piece of ammo into its place, ready for firing. 

" Strengthen me and guide me to light, guard me and guide me, lead me to light." Hazel whispered softly, biting back her lip, as she squinted her and pulled the trigger again, holding the knock back that wanted to fire from the weapon altogether. The man was dead. Hazel watched in the chaos as mortars from Easy's mortars teams shot to the opposite side, and paratroopers ran forward and shot towards the German's lines before running back. 

All the sudden, Easy's MG's opened up as German heads appeared on the horizon. All she could hear was the fire fight, and guns shooting off round after round, men screaming, others yelling orders through the explosives going off in the background. Hazel watched with narrowed eyes as German tanks began rolling into view. 

Hazel pulled back from the scope for a minute, adrenaline pumping through every fiber in her being as she watched those tanks roll forward quicker than they ever had before. Hazel forced down the nervous smirk that twitched on her face and tensed up her body as she held her sniper steady, taking aim at the gunner on the top of the tanks that rolled forward.

Whispering a tiny prayer, she took aim on the gunner of the closet tank, knocking him out of the top of the gunning position and watching him fall straight to the ground. She watched in horror as the tank slowly began turning towards where she had been lying. Hazel forced herself not to stress, but focus on the large spit of gun on the front of the tank, taking aim right down the center of it. 

Once the tank locked in position, Hazel whispered a short prayer that left her lips in a breath of air, as she pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet went soaring through the air right into the main gun of the tank, blowing it up from the inside, a fiery explosion following, as bits of the tank shot up into the air, engulfing it in flames of red, orange and yellow. It was spectacle to see, and to watch, the crackling sound that followed, one of accomplishment. 

Now if it were only that easy with every tank she fired on. 

But the tracks were easily accessible. She remembered the lectures Sobel had led on tanks, and their 'pressure points' that were on them; the track along the bottom was one of them. Blow a portion out, the tank is done for. 

And that's where Hazel took aim next. 

If anything it would help the rest of the paratroopers quite literally on the front line. Hazel slowly adjusted her position and began taking aim on the tank. Once she ran out of rounds, she discretely loaded them back into the bolt before slamming it shut and taking aim yet again, slowly growing closer to the success that came with breaking the track on the tanks. 

Lizzie was moving back in the lines, up and down, straight through people as bullets flew past her head, whizzing and sizzling as they made impact with what was behind her.

" Medic!" someone cried as she crashed in next to someone who's finger was hanging on by mere skin at this point. Lizzie quickly clasped her hand, gently, around the finger, and was able to wrap what she could up with some bandage and move the person back from the line. They would lose their finger and need stitches to cover it up; that was her rather quick consensus. Lizzie cleaned up a bullet wound next, fishing the bullet out from the person's leg.

" It's going to sting!" she called over the fire fight, as the person screamed.

" I'm sorry! Just keep your eyes open!" she yelled as she pulled sulfa out and poured it into the wound with ease. She flung the sulfa packet to the side and then wrapped the wound up with a bandage as an explosion shook her core. Lizzie managed to pull that person back behind the line before turning and jumping away as an explosion exploded right near her. Her heart was racing as she ran behind the lines, listening for the screams that she awaited to enter her ears. 

It was a horrid thing to think, that you were awaiting the call of someone who was in complete utter pain and nearing death; it seemed it were sin to think that. But Lizzie knew that with each call, she was making sure that she were closer to keeping them alive, than letting death keep them in his grasp. She knew the call that was made all the time, was the call she had prepared months for, years for. So, she continued running through the lines, the bullets flying all around her, and moving onto the next paratrooper that was hit and waiting for aid. 

Hazel watched through her scope carefully as Harry Welsh led the rather frantic looking McGrath onto the field with his bazooka to take aim at the Panzers that were currently rolling onto the field. Hazel took that as the opportunity to move her position. She slowly crept up a bit more, near a larger shaded area, where she could see perfectly through the trees and leaves to the bright battlefield. She set up her position with ease and then leaned down looking straight through her scope again as she watched the battle unfold and the German tanks roll closer. 

Hazel pulled the poncho over her body and stayed methodically still, as she fell into her routine. Hazel was gently in her stalking that she normally went on about, whispering her silent prayers as she took a shot from her weapon. The silent prayers left her lips in whispers and were soon gone to the wind as she took that shot that ended a man's life. But she took the shot; always. Hazel watched a German race forward and Hazel placed her finger right beside the trigger.

" Lord please be with me through war, guide me and guard me." she whispered, and gently tapped the trigger as she got a perfect head shot on the man. But Hazel barely moved, pulling that bolt back and loading in again. 

Lizzie grew desperate as the calls for a medic increased. She ran up to a guy who was yelling medic over his friend and shoved him out of the way. She immediately began pouring sulfa to his head wound as the friend sat dazed staring at her.

" Don't just stare! Get out there!" Lizzie yelled, her voice cracking as the soldier scrambled off and she focused back on the downed man who was sobbing and crying out in utter pain at this moment, pleading for his mother. Lizzie's heart broke as she plunged morphine into his leg and he slowly quieted. 

An explosion went off right near her and she curled protectively over top of the man before getting her own all clear and continuing to wrap him up. She then jumped up at the sound for another medic call and patted the man on the shoulder before racing through the lines again. She saw the man, hands covered in blood, arms shaking in the air, crying out, his cries painful to listen to.

" Hey," Lizzie said as she collapsed by him and located the bleeding wound, a bullet in the leg, it wasn't the artery; he'd live. Lizzie quickly placed her hands on the bullet wound, before pulling one off to reach into the medic bag and pull the bandage out to begin making a sort of tourniquet. She was out of those. He screamed again.

" Hey, it's okay, I'm right here," Lizzie said putting a bloodied hand to the side of his face, " Right here, I'll make sure you see your momma again, okay?" He nodded with a groaning pain. Lizzie pulled the sulfa packet apart with her teeth, just like she had seen Gene do the one time and began pouring it on, before whipping out the morphine that always sat at the ready. She gently pulled it out and then stabbed it into the opposite thigh watching as the man slowly relaxed.

" It's okay." she whispered, as she began wrapping the bloody leg wound, " Everything will be okay." 

Hazel could see that the Germans were gaining land as they moved closer to where the paratroopers were located. 

Suddenly out of nowhere, a huge explosion rocked the Panzers. Hazel looked up quickly from her sniper having seen the explosion and searching for who had shot it. Hazel couldn't help as tears peeked the corners of her eyes seeing the 2nd Armored making its appearance. She couldn't help but let out a tiny whoop leave her lips. She couldn't get over how badass the Shermans looked, moving across the field with the mere act that this was an inconvenience to them. 

A smirk grew on her face as she turned to the Germans and watched as chaos ensued on their side, not exactly expecting them to appear. Hazel shot German after German as they died in front of her, all assisted through tiny prayers. A new confidence and excitement invigorated Easy Company's side, as wild yells like an ancient war cry erupted from the paratroopers. There was a certain quickness as German after German was taken out with a new certain quickness that many people didn't believe Easy was capable of. The Germans began to retreat suddenly. Hazel took off more quick fired shots after that as adrenaline similar to her 2 previous battles filled her body, and she began killing each person with every single shot. But she told herself that each time a bullet left her weapon, a prayer would follow, it made it easier to then live afterwards. 

Each breath she held, steadied her scope and killed someone in the end. Hazel watched through her scope as the Panzers retreated with the straggling Germans which she took out with her sniper. The sniper suddenly shot back into her jaw and she let out a groan.

" Too fast." she muttered, as she pulled the ammo into place and settled into her slot again. Hazel watched through her scope as Germans yelled out to each other as they dragged injured comrades back from the line calling out to others to help as the last desperate plea for help. Hazel felt for them, she couldn't imagine her friends getting hit and being shot at while she attempted to pull them back; but it was war, something everyone had to accept would happen.

The Shermans broke through fully and had the Germans then in full retreat. Hazel felt herself release her tight grip on the sniper and let out the tension that had built up inside her with a sigh. Hazel slowly removed the poncho from her body and sat up, drenched in sweat as she did so, removing the helmet that was covered in sweat. She sat back and sighed, wiping the sweat away, even though it made her face itchier. She glanced back through the trees towards where the mortar crews were and then she glanced towards the battle field, where the Shermans slowly pushed forward onto. 

Hazel let out a quiet sigh, as images flashed through her mind thinking of the battle field that had just been in front of them. She reached up and scratched her head and glanced back towards the way she had come. She probably had to move. Hazel slowly stood up, lugging the rifle up and into her arms, before holding the poncho close to her and heading forward again. Hazel slowly stepped out of the dark foliage and approached the mortar crews.

" We're already on the move again," Penkala called to her as she approached, " but supposedly to a place where we'll be setting up foxholes. Maybe we'll even get a bit of food tonight." Hazel offered a small smile and nodded. A night without the overlying stress of a battle the next day would be quite lovely she felt. 

And that is was ultimately happened. 


	44. the final days

" Sometimes you don't realize you're actually drowning when you're trying to be everyone else's anchor."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

They built foxholes that remained around the outskirts of Carentan that night. Within the coming weeks, they didn't move much, maybe to smaller towns outside of Carentan, but Carentan was the main port where troops from Omaha and Utah could link up and head inland and also where supplies could be brought through. It was a process in the works. Each battle though that Easy was engaged in, became harder to recover from afterwards. The casualties were difficult to comprehend most of the time and most of the time the medics were the ones who dealt with that. 

Hazel was sent on night patrols almost daily and she'd come back at 0200 and still see Gene, Lizzie, Spina, Pepping and Oates working and awake in the aid station. But what amazed Hazel was that Lizzie still managed to keep her personality as bubbly and as upbeat as she could and that's what kept those medics in there going, especially Gene, who's eyes became foreign and distant almost, and he grew black and almost glossy. 

But Lizzie's promise to Lip had been a promise and she never broke promises. The two medics shared a foxhole all the time, so she always made sure that even if he got back first, she would slid in, make sure he ate and rank water and then finally would get some rest. Even if it were taking a toll on Lizzie, she felt it were more important to know everyone else was okay. 

It must've been D-Day plus 20, and it felt like it were much longer. More watery coffee had been provided to the company in the early morning of the 27th. Lizzie had been up all night, even though she promised Gene she wouldn't be, and that was the first thing on her mind as she stumbled out of the makeshift aid station. She saw the station and she inhaled the scents of coffee, even the merest scent of it, and made way for it, walking right up to the station with wide eyes. 

The Private behind the station poured her a cup and she gleefully took it and sipped down the wonderful drink. Maybe this would let on to the other 4 medics that she wasn't up all night. She slowly retreated back towards the aid station and when she stepped inside she found Gene was now in there, attempting to wake up it seemed.

" Hey, Gene." Lizzie called as she sipped the coffee and entered the room. 

" Hey," he called over his shoulder, a yawn following.

" You want some coffee?" Lizzie asked him, stepping up to his side and offering the cup. Gene gave her a look.

" That's yours." he said. Lizzie scrunched her brow.

" Nah, you can have it." Lizzie said and placed it in front of him.

" I think I'll be ok without it." Gene said placing it back in front of her. Lizzie just smirked and took it back.

" Where were you last night?" Gene asked her, and she nearly felt the coffee shoot out of her nose, but instead she choked it down. 

" Uh," Lizzie said, " I was doing rounds." Gene gave her a sheepish look.

" For 8 hours?" 

" Yeah." she answered.

" C'mon, what were you really doing?" he asked her. 

" Listen, I can't sleep anymore at night," Lizzie said shaking her head, " it's stupid." Gene gave her a look and then placed down the bandage.

" What do you mean?" Gene asked her. Lizzie glanced up at him. 

" My brains on 24/7, I try to fall asleep, but I'm just crunching numbers for the next day. It's like I have adrenaline all the time in my system." she said, as she bit at her fingers. Gene gave her a look once she started doing that. She sighed and brought her hand down.

" I'm fine though, Gene, really," Lizzie said, " it's like my college days. I barely got any sleep then, who cares now?" Gene watched her. 

" It's war, Lizzie." Gene said to her, " How're you functioning with no sleep?" Lizzie bit back her lip and stared him in the eye.

" I don't know," she said leaning back, " it's like my mind won't stop." 

" I mean, Gene, I've always been like this you know? Stay up all night, not really be bothered, I'm not really tired. I just sorta move on with it, my brains just always awake." Lizzie said. But she watched Gene's eyes grow concerned.

" You feeling ok?" he asked her. Lizzie raised a brow.

" What? Yes, I feel fine." Lizzie said, as suddenly her mind filled with thoughts. Was she ok?

" Am I interrupting?" a voice asked and both medics turned to see that it was Lieutenant Winters. 

" No, sir." Gene said, giving a glance to Lizzie who glanced back at him.

" Someone from patrol, they took a hit, not a bad one, but they need medical attention." Winters explained. 

" Stay here," Gene said to Lizzie, " prepare the bed, and get out some bandages." Lizzie nodded. She was dutiful. Lizzie watched as Gene followed Winters out, but couldn't shake the face that seemed imprinted on Gene's features when she told him how she was feeling. 

Was there something wrong with her? 

As the days passed, Lizzie kept that feeling pounded down deep into her chest, and all the thoughts that swirled through her brain continued to remain relevant almost all the time. In the foxholes, Lizzie sat awake, next to Gene who was fast asleep, pleading with her brain to calm down with it to stop and let her rest. At most she got an hour or two and then would wake up and be staring at the stars. It was a horrible feeling that got worse each day. But when duty called, Lizzie ignored it and got to work, that was more important. 

Hazel got night patrols and had it down to a full systemic process, and she managed sleep in the foxhole with Lieb easily afterwards. But recently, she couldn't deny it was beginning to become overwhelming and exhausting and she would skip breakfast for sleep. By D-Day plus 25, Hazel was out of it entirely. She was next to Shifty, her eyes half shut, breath slightly shallow, and her mind twisted. They'd sent her out on a single-man sniper patrol last night, for a rouge German that keep wandering over to their side. She had killed him, looted him and left his body near a tree, but it had taken 6 hours to do all that, and she had 0 to no sleep. 

So there they were in the forests of France, hidden in the trees. Hazel was emotionless and exhausted. The last few patrols had taken their toll, an unnecessary one, and Hazel found herself in a rather dark place. She didn't even look to the stars anymore.

" Need to take a look at that farmhouse." Lieutenant Welsh called to the group of sitting soldiers behind him and Lieutenant Nixon. " Who wants to go?" No one moved. A silence fell over the group of soldiers sitting there. Everyone at this point was so exhausted and war-torn even after merely just a month of fighting, that the thought of searching a warehouse wore them all out. Hazel could barely keep her eyes open, she couldn't imagine having to search out something new after last night. 

" I'll go." came a quiet voice and Hazel looked over to see it was Blithe poking his head up.

" Anybody else?" Welsh called. He seemed to pity Hazel, who looked more dead than alive, and Shifty who was making sure she was still crouched and not a ball on the floor. 

" Martin, Dukeman, you just volunteered." Welsh called. " Hubba-hubba."

" I'll be lead." Blithe called.

" Blithe's lead scout, move out." Welsh said. Nixon and Welsh were talking quietly together in front of the soldiers, but Hazel's gaze remained unfocused. She was on her last leg it felt right now. Her muscles ached, her bones ached and her head ached. She felt numb. All the sudden one single shot fired out, and every man and woman in the group watched as Blithe fell to the ground, blood spurting from his neck.

" Here we go again, covering fire! Covering fire!" Welsh called to the men and Hazel. Hazel was barely able to move her body as she stood and adjusted herself near a tree. A branch hung low enough to stick the sniper on and it was short enough for her height to hold the sniper steady and attempt an aim for the sniper that had hit Blithe. 

" Medical!" Welsh yelled as Martin and Dukeman managed to haul Blithe back.

" Top window right!" someone yelled as Hazel focused all her efforts there. 

" Medic!" Martin yelled, " We need a medic down here!"

" Cease fire! Cease fire!" Welsh called. Hazel took one final shot and noticed the firing stopped from the right window. She didn't say anything though as she stopped firing her weapon and silently reloaded it. 

" Move! Move! Coming through, give us room!" Gene yelled as he hurried past the group. Hazel watched with unfocused eyes as Gene and Lizzie ran forward to take care of Blithe. Hazel slowly moved forward and watched as Winters appeared a bit to her right.

" What happened?" Winters asked.

" Sniper." Nixon said as he looked towards Blithe.

" Did you take him out?" Winters asked. Welsh glanced back towards Hazel who stood a few feet behind them, exhaustedly.

" Parker did." Welsh said; he had heard her single fire shot, knowing she could've taken him out. Winters nodded.

" They're pulling us off the front line." Winters said and Hazel's ears perked up for a second.

" Now?" Nixon asked.

" To a field camp north of Utah Beach." Winters said, " Hot food. And showers. Then back to England." Nixon sighed and turned to walk away and Nixon followed. Easy was finally being moved off the line, and their Normandy Campaign was finally coming to a rocky close. 

Hazel passed out in the truck bed on the way to the field camp. She curled up right at Liebgott's feet and curled into a ball and rightfully fell asleep with the rifle right next to her. Many of the men and women fell asleep on the ride to the field camp, but they could tell Hazel needed it the most. She hadn't slept in days and the 6 hour single man ambush last night had clearly taken a toll on her. 

When the company arrived at the camp, they had showers set up everywhere, as well as a medic station, a large one, medic trucks everywhere, and a tent for food. Lizzie and Gene immediately moved to the aid station and removed their gear to help the other medics inside. The two were strong together, working as one, but everyone knew how exhausted they both were. Hazel had slumped off the truck and dragged her feet to the showers. She wasn't exactly sure if she was supposed to shower with the men or wait. She looked for showers in the back. Hazel found a tiny shower stall in the back, away from everything else with two pairs of ODs and a note on top, from Colonel Sink. 

_ODs for Elliot, E and Parker, H_. 

Hazel gratefully took her pair and stepped inside the shower. She slowly took off her old crusted ODs from her body. Her muscles were all cramped up or sore, there were bruises she didn't know she had in multiple different places, and blood came from tiny cuts all over her body. Dirt rolled off of her in levels, and so did the mud, and debris of Normandy. 

When that cool water turned somewhat warm Hazel suddenly felt an onslaught of tears hit her. She hadn't showered in nearly a month, and she forgot the comfort it brought. She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks and mixing with the shower water and all the emotion she had bottled up for 20 days finally escape her. 

Her cries were quiet, but Hazel had learned to do that. 

Hazel wasn't sure how long she had cried, but by the end of it, she was taking in long gasping cries that left her throat soar and voice scratchy. She couldn't have protected Catherine, Lip or Tab, she couldn't have done a thing but they had gotten injured. 

And Hazel blamed herself. 

As Hazel shut off the water, she prayed that her eyes were red and puffy from the crying she did. So she took her time, pulling on the stiff, new ODs and wriggling around in them a bit so she could fit into them. She had to roll the pant legs and sleeves up a lot to fit her, and she had to pull the belt tightly around her hips, but she felt snug and secure in the new OD set. Her hair was drying in loose ringlets, which she noticed had grown longer, quickly, during their time in Normandy. 

When Hazel stepped out the sun was already beginning to set, but her mood had turned slightly sour. Hazel found where old ODs were supposed to go and chuck them in before crossing her arms over her chest and heading towards the mess hall. There were men eating, men showering, men changing, men coming into the aid station, leaving the aid station, just arriving at the field camp. It was a sort of calm chaos. 

Shifty was the person she managed to find in all the chaos and gave her the warmest hug she felt she'd had in weeks. It was comforting to know that even though, her mental state was faltering a bit she had friends there who would always be there. Her and Shifty ate together in the field outside the mess hall, as the day slowly turned to the night time, talking together quietly and relishing the warm breeze that hit them as the moon rose. 

Hazel watched the stars just like she had her first night in Normandy, and admired their twinkle, even after they looked down on everything that had happened. She smiled. She would be okay, they all would. 

Catherine had seen Tab, Lip, Smokey, and Blithe all come into the hospital in England. Popeye had been there when she arrived. Her heart broke as she watched each of the men arrive with injures that she couldn't even imagine how they had sustained them. 

Shattered, was the term that had been speculated, a fracture was actually what had occurred; the placement of the fracture had caused the word shatter to be thrown around among the medics. She had been in a sling for 4 weeks, and she was on her last few days with it. The physical therapy had been helping, but she knew she might not have normal mobility for about 5 months. It sucked, but she was alive and she was healthy otherwise. 

She enjoyed breakfast with Tab. She found out that he had been doing patrol with Hazel and had gone back to his foxhole and a new guy had mistook him for a Kraut and bayoneted him. He had a huge bandage on his chest, where the bayonet had narrowly missed his important organs. He sat up really straight since Catherine knew there was obviously a tone of pain in his chest, but she knew that didn't come in the way of food. He housed some much food, that she wasn't sure it was healthy to eat that much. Tab's explanation had been that they ate little to nothing out there and that the K-rations were only calories and not that much.

" How's Hazel? Did you talk to her at all?" Catherine asked him one morning. Tab glanced over at her and sighed.

" I did patrol with her and she seemed fine, we talked a lot, then Welsh came upon us, just things like that. She seemed fine. And she was doing real good with that rifle of hers. When I left her total was up to about 38 kills." Tab explained, as he scooped up some eggs.

" Really?" Catherine asked and Tab nodded.

" Few headshots, only missed a few with those bullets of hers, but she's good, real good." Tab said. Catherine smiled softly. She knew Hazel could do it.

" And Lizzie?" Catherine asked.

" Oh yeah, met up with her on D-Day, we then found Shifty, the 502nd and Smokey. It was a trip for sure." Tab said, laughing at the end.

" What?" Catherine asked.

" For a girl that doesn't reveal much about herself, she made everyone laugh." Tab said.

" That's Lizzie for ya." Catherine said with a smirk. 

" How're you feeling?" Tab asked her. Catherine shrugged.

" Ok, the shoulder's slow at moving, but what else is new." Catherine said. 

" I heard Gene dragged you half way across Normandy." Tab said.

" Oh yes he did. Without him, I probably would've never made it to the company." Catherine said, with a nod. 

" They're good at the jobs, that's what I can give 'em." Tab said and Catherine grinned with a nod, thinking about the group of 6 beloved medics.

" Yeah they are." she said. Catherine smiled.


	45. the return to aldbourne

" A bird sitting in a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because it's trust is not in the branch, but in its wings." 

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Easy Company and the rest of the 101st Airborne returned to Aldbourne. 

Hazel was in her fresh and stiff ODs, as she slowly approached the Burnett's home, a relief filling her heart as she watched the familiar home which had seen her through sickness and health appear. 

Hazel recognized that they had painted the shutters, just like Grace had always said she had wanted to, and the tiny flowers out front seemed replanted since the time Hazel had been gone. They were bright colors, like yellow, orange and a deep red and they were probably the most beautiful flowers Hazel had seen in a while, besides her mother's flowers of course. Her mother always grew the most beautiful flowers she'd ever seen. Or perhaps even the Edelweiss flower upon the green-eyed German was the most beautiful. 

It was the little things in life she felt. 

Hazel slowly walked up the little cobblestone walkway towards the home and as she approached it she admired the tiny porch which had plenty of potted plants that had adorable little painted designs among the sides which reminded Hazel of children's drawings back as a child. Hazel felt her heart warm at the feeling of finally being in a place that resembled home. Hazel slowly knocked against the oak wooden door and watched as footsteps were heard on the other side. Then the door opened and Hazel saw Grace on the other side, with wide eyes.

" Hazel!" Grace shouted, jumping forward, and pulling the girl into a hug. Hazel quickly wrapped her arms around Grace and squeezed her eyes shut forcing the tears that wanted to appear to not roll down her cheeks in that moment. She always said it, but a good hug always meant the world to Hazel. Grace pulled back and gently cupped Hazel's face with her warm hands. 

" We're so glad you're here." Grace said and Hazel smiled, forcing herself not to cry. The hospitality that Grace and Henry had also provided had always been that of a comfort Hazel had missed while in Athene and in the barracks with the RAF.

" I'm glad I'm here too." Hazel said and Grace smiled.

" C'mon in, we'll get you a bath, some fresh clothes, we'll get you fed." Grace said pulling her inside the beautiful foyer which seemed to even have more pictures hanging upon the walls. 

" I see you've noticed the new photos." Grace said as Hazel stopped and stared at them. There was one of her, Hazel, working on the farm. Hazel's eyes grew soft.

" Harry! It's Hazel!" called Grace and Hazel turned to see Harry coming out of the living room down a step from the kitchen.

" My oh my Hazel!" Harry said as he placed down the book and came forward to wrap Hazel in a warm hug, " How are you dear?"

" Much better, Harry, I'm just glad to be back." Hazel said and the Burnett's smiled. 

" Harry, dear, would you mind starting on chopping up those vegetables. I'm going to run Hazel a bath." Grace said.

" Of course, you ladies go run off." Harry said shooing them from the kitchen as Grace pulled Hazel up the stairs. 

" The room hasn't changed, all your things are still in there." Grace said as Hazel stepped towards the room. The last she'd been in the room was when she hadn't killed a man, when she hadn't gone and killed 38 men. 

38 enemies.

" I'll run your bath." Grace said, squeezing her shoulder before moving next door to turn on the water. 

Hazel slowly stepped inside the room and looked around the features of the room, just as she had remembered it. The fixtures were the same, that old squeaky light bulb, and the curtains were the soft yellow they'd always been. Grace's paintings were still there, even the sunflower one, and there were even a few more pillows in the room now. It was all the same. The window was open, letting in the slightly cool July air for the late afternoon, as the sun shone brightly through the window into the room, the fresh air creating a sweet smell. There were new plants everywhere, hanging from the ceiling, the window, the eves and peaks. 

But it was a lovely room. 

It always had been. 

Hazel slowly stepped toward the night stand where she found a small piece of chocolate, like the one Lieutenant Winters had delivered on Christmas 1943, along with a toothbrush, wash cloth and a new bar of soap. 

Hazel slowly let the rifle slide from her shoulder and rest against the nightstand, where it usually was situated, before sliding her pack off her back, drenched in sweat. She couldn't wait to change from the sweaty ODs. Hazel ran a hand through her hair, Lieb would have to give it a good trim again, as the ends were tangled with bits of dirt, sweat and possibly even blood for all she knew. 

Hazel slowly eased herself down on the bed and gave the room another good look around before bending over to pull the boots off her feet and placed them to the side. She wiggled her feet around in the socks and then slowly stood, grabbing the toothbrush, wash cloth and soap before heading over to the bath. She slowly approached the doorway where Grace made sure the water was warm pouring in the favorite lilac scented soap she always used. Hazel entered and Grace looked up hearing her footsteps.

" Just in time, it's all heated." Grace said as she stood, " I'll have fresh clothes for you in your room when you're done, but take all the time you need, the chicken won't be ready for a bit." 

" Thank you, Grace, really, I needed this." Hazel said. Grace squeezed her shoulder with a smile and nodded. Then she left the bathroom and shut the door behind herself. 

Hazel sighed to herself softly and slowly removed her ODs, to her PT shorts and shirt. She slowly pulled the Star of David from around her neck and the dog tags and then the bracelet from Grace, before putting them on the sink counter beside her toothbrush. 

Then Hazel stripped completely and gleefully sunk into the bathtub, feeling warm water for the first time in over a month. She never knew how much she'd miss the feeling of actual warm water on her entire being. 

Hazel sat there for a while in the tub looking out the window towards the farm, that spread into grassy hills and a bit of a forest as the blue sky dawned overhead, a few clouds sailing by to wave hello as they did so, and the sweet smell that had filled her room, filling the bathtub with a hint of lilac. 

Hazel washed her hair, a good wash at that, getting anything she couldn't get at the field camp north of Utah beach out. Hazel scrubbed her body of sweat and dirt before deciding that she would get out before her hands pruned anymore than they already were. She wrapped herself in a towel and dried her hair off as well, before giving her teeth a quick brush. 

Brushing her teeth had never felt so good.

Hazel headed into her bedroom, putting the dirty ODs in the hamper, Grace usually washed them really well, and shut the door behind her. Then Hazel went to the bed, where a fresh set of clothes were laid out in front of her. Hazel secured the towel and then pulled up the clothes. 

It had to be the cutest and comfiest looking dress Hazel had ever seen. It was simple, just one for lounging around, but it was a soft yellow, with tiny white flowers over it, and two pockets on the front. The collar was loose and it wore well as if it were a short sleeve. It was adorable. 

Hazel slowly pulled it on herself and looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled a bit, more than she had in the past few days when a smile seemed nonexistent. Hazel pulled on her dog tags and then the Star of David before pulling on the bracelet Grace had given her. She let her hair dry in the lose ringlets before heading downstairs, barefoot. She bet Freckles who was on the step before giving Speckles a pat upon the tuff of hair on his head.

" Boy it smells good." Hazel said as she stepped down into the kitchen.

" There she is!" Harry called as she pulled the chicken out of the stove as Grace turned from pouring water into a cup.

" Do you like the dress?" Grace asked her. Hazel looked down at the dress and smoothed her hands down the front of it.

" I think it's beautiful, thank you for it." Hazel said.

" Consider it yours, it brings out your eyes." Grace said and Hazel grinned. 

" Do you like what we did to the room?" Harry asked her as Hazel accepted the glass of water from grass.

" I adore them," Hazel said with wide eyes, " They're stunning." 

" Got them down at the market the other day, Grace and I, you'd love to go there one day, it has the most beautiful set up, with flowers, vegetables, fruits, and meats." Harry explained and Hazel smiled softly. She was glad to be back, just to be back in Aldbourne, because not for a second at dinner did she think about what she had done in war. All she thought about was the good meal and the comfort she felt being there. 

Hazel took to sitting on the floor against the back of the couch in the living room, staring up through all the old books and knickknacks upon the shelves through the windows at the sky which was slowly darkening. Hazel had enjoyed dinner so much, just being with Grace and Harry again talking as if it were old times. 

But she'd changed; she'd noticed it and she was hoping that if Grace and Harry were to notice they didn't try to talk about it much. She knew they probably wouldn't though. Hazel had little flashbacks and memories every so often these past few days which terrified her but were constantly in her mind by this point, reminding her of what she did. Even though she had done her duty, she was finally away from it all, and was consumed by it. 

And it'd be something she'd have to live with. 

As she went to bed that night, she lie away, staring at the ceiling, memorizing each nook, each scratch, each little indent. Every bit of it. Her mind was awake and running, in overdrive it seemed, like when she was out on the field. Her brain seemed to never stop. But she eventually found some sort of sleep, tossing and turning, hearing gunshots and explosions in her mind, rattling around, flashing lights behind her eyes, voices crying out, a laugh or two, expressions and tears. 

She could see all of it. 

Her nightmares were filled with the horrors she had to commit in war, each and every moment that she experienced with her through her eyes, replaying in her head as if it were a movie. It was her own personal battle, one every man and woman had to deal with themselves as well, that she was struggling with right now. But if she helped turn the tide of this war, even the slightest bit, it was worth it. 

The next day, Hazel helped with the garden and the farm in the early morning, for sleep was nonexistent at that point and she figured helping in the garden would get her mind off things. She ate breakfast with Harry that morning as Grace was working on planting some flowers out in the front yard and was determined to get them up before the sun had fully come up. Easy Company had about a week of relaxation really before they had to get back to just small training sessions because right now the Normandy Campaign was still running, it's just Easy had done its duty and was pulled back from the line to England again. 

Hazel was sitting in bed, writing her mother a letter, curled up with the blanket as she wrote when there was a knock against the door frame. Hazel looked up.

" Joe." Hazel said, noticing the man in his beige casual wear; the beige button up, with a tie, with the beige pants his cover in his belt. 

" Hey," he said, " figured I'd stop by, just like old times." He walked in the room and admired it.

" This where you've been staying?" he asked her. 

" Yeah." Hazel said as she capped the pen up, " Beautiful isn't it?" Joe looked around at the hanging plants and the paintings and out the window.

" Yeah, yeah it is." he said before glancing at her, " What're you doing?" 

" Writing a letter to my mom." Hazel said, as Joe slowly sat down on the bed and looked her way, he smiled.

" I told Chuck I'd meet him at the pub in a bit and figured you'd want to get out at some point." Joe offered. Hazel glanced at him and then smiled softly. 

" I probably should." Hazel told him, as she placed her letter to the side and sighed, " I'll get dressed." Joe grinned; he knew Hazel was struggling with the aftermath of the Normandy Campaign, she never said much about it, but the hopeful look in her eyes was now clouded by something, he couldn't put his finger on it. 

After Joe stepped outside, she pulled on her own casual beige wear; her button up beige top and tie, then her beige skirt and Mary-Janes, then she just pinned part of her hair back and away from her face, before grabbing her cover and opening up the door. Her and Joe left the Burnett's and went to the local pub where they had been many times before. Chuck was there, along with a few other people, like Johnny, Skip, Malarkey, Penkala, Bill and Joe Toye. Hazel sat beside Liebgott and Chuck, sipping at her Coke every so often, not really paying attention to the conversation, her mind like a war zone.

" Hazel?" a voice asked and Hazel looked up quickly to look across to Johnny who was asking her a question. Everyone else was watching her.

" Sorry, what?" she asked, her cheeks fighting the blush.

" You ok? You're quiet." Johnny said. Hazel blushed further and bit back her lip.

" Yeah, fine, I didn't sleep much." she said and she saw Bill give her a worried look. Hazel knew she was struggling, but she didn't want to admit that the feeling in her chest, made her feel like she wanted to punch a wall, start sobbing, go and break down a door. She didn't want to. It was like a dull cloud was over her, hanging like a drape. She wished it would disappear.

" Hey, kid," Bill called and Hazel glanced his way, " it's okay." And Hazel knew Bill was saying that for more than just the surface level. Hazel nodded. The talking began again and she tried her best to pay attention but her mind kept drifting. 

Eventually though with a few Cokes in her body, she was more awake and more present in the current time period. She was laughing more and smiling more, and she felt a bit better. In the coming weeks, she felt better and usually working on the farm or going out with her friends distracted her mind from war. 

As July drug on, Hazel finally sent her mother a letter and found that her mother had sent one to her as well. She was expecting another desperate plea letter from her father, but she already told herself, she wasn't ready to send him a letter back at this point and that was final. If things in the future changed and she felt she could send him a letter she would. But it was almost over a decade later, and she had tried her best to forget that he had inflicted as much emotional pain as he did. She slowly opened her mother's most recent letter.

_Hazel,_ _  
_

_I'm so happy to have received a letter from you. Even from where I am, the stars are shining brightly and all I can think of is you. I hope you are well, and that the rest of the men and women of your company are doing well, too. I've been making the most of my time back here. Harry's dropped by many times to have dinner with me, and he's been wondering how you're during, too. Of course, I still say you're in the WAC, enjoying your time. He's going away to New York City soon to open his restaurant, it got halted because his mother got sick and he had to take care of him. Mrs Willis has brought her family over many times. Her son Thomas is in Italy at the moment, but she still has 4 other children that are wonderful to have over for a meal. I've been doing gardening the past few weeks, a lot of it, and I'm planning on next year, if you are able to come home by then, we can harvest some of the home grown vegetables together! Wouldn't that be lovely! We could have some of your friends in the company over, and cook a big meal with some of our favorite Polish foods we love. It'll be lovely. Now, I know your father has sent you a letter, but just know you have the right to make the decision you want on writing back to him and talking to him, just remember that. You have every right to make your own decision._

_I wanted to let you know, that I've recently begun to think that I want to start a little farm market. They have a plot of land that is open, and the farmer that works there, his daughter used to babysit you, and he's auctioning it up. I was thinking of heading down there and opening one up then and there, using his produce and giving him the title. I've just always thought that it would be such a neat idea and we've always had our tiny little garden, but one like that would be beautiful I feel. I'll keep you updated! I hope you head back to Aldbourne soon. Please say hello to the Burnett's for me as well as the girls! I love you, honey._ _  
_

_Love, your mother_

_Lena_

Hazel felt her eyes well with tears.

" I love you, too, mom." Hazel whispered, before she had to bite her bottom lip back to hold in the cry that wanted to escape. She missed her mother's hugs, how tightly she'd hold her and then go and make hot chocolate and just talk together and then her mother would make her laugh. 

Hazel missed that.


	46. the replacements

" You can't force people to respect you, but you can refuse to tolerate their disrespect."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

On her birthday, she woke up to a note by her bedside from the Burnett's. It simply said _Happy Birthday our Hazel! We love you so much, like you were our own daughter and your birthday, especially your 20th is such a big occasion, come downstairs when you are ready, we have a few gifts for you!!_ Hazel smiled as she stood up and slowly headed downstairs. The air smelled like waffles and there had to be ham roasting somewhere. And she heard laughter in the kitchen. When Hazel walked in, a smile spread on her face when she saw Lizzie sitting at the table, sipping a mug of coffee, eyes relaxed, smile wide. 

" Hazel!" Lizzie called noticing the girl, and racing over to her to pull her into a warm hug.

" Happy Birthday!" Hazel hugged Lizzie close after only seeing her a few times at the pubs. Lizzie gave the warmest hugs.

" Thank you, Lizzie." Hazel said as Lizzie pulled back with a wide smile on her face.

" Come along now dear, we have breakfast all ready." Grace said as she pulled the chair open. Hazel walked over with a smile and slowly sat down in between her and Lizzie and across from Harry who was working his way through his 2nd cup of tea usually.

" This means so much, guys, really." Hazel said as she looked at the food and the Burnett's and Lizzie there. Lizzie smiled. 

" We have a few little gifts for you," Harry said leaning down beside his chair and pulling out 4 packages.

" Oh! Thank you!" Hazel said, taking the gifts, " You guys didn't have to do this." Her eyes were watery. 

" Of course we did." Grace said as Lizzie grinned.

" You're turning 20, Hazel, that's pretty important." Lizzie said and Hazel smiled at her, " Open them!" Hazel looked down at the packages and slowly opened the first one. It was the tiny package of chocolates from the Barnes that the Burnetts always had. Hazel's eyes went wide.

" Thank you!! You know these are my favorite." Hazel said and the Burnetts smiled at her warmly. The 2nd package was a painting of a sunflower field. Hazel's eyes went soft.

" Grace this is beautiful." Hazel said looking at her.

" I know you just adore sunflowers, love and of course the open fields around the home, I figured it was perfect." Grace said and Hazel grinned.the third package was Pride and Prejudice, a book she had been wanting to read for a while now but never got the time to, she'd talk about it for ages now. The fourth package was the cutest scarf, that paratroopers usually wore around their neck for dust and heat. It was yellow with white flowers like the dress.

" We figured you'd like this color and style, especially if you head back out again." Grace said and Hazel smiled. She never felt so loved, away from home, as she did now.

" Thank you guys, really, thank you so much." Hazel said and the Burnetts and Lizzie smiled.

" Now," Lizzie said as she placed down her coffee and pulled out a small gift, " if Catherine were here, she would've signed, but she couldn't, but we've always wanted you to have this." Hazel looked at Lizzie softly before glancing at the package. 

Hazel slowly unwrapped it and pulled out a picture frame. And the picture was of the 3 of them, in their first week at Camp Athene, bright smiles on their faces, arms hanging over each other, standing in their PT gear, eyes scrunched in the corner's as they smiled. Tears spiked Hazel's eyes, and she put a hand to her mouth. They all looked so fresh and so young, compared to now. War-torn women who were drug through battle. They'd come so far. When Hazel looked up at Lizzie, Lizzie was smiling, tears in her eyes as well. Hazel reached her hand forward as the one of her mouth took the painting and gently grasped Lizzie's hand.

" Thank you, Lizzie." Hazel said softly, holding back the tears that wanted to crawl down her face. Lizzie nodded, as she bit back her lip with a smile. Then Lizzie was the first to break, letting out something between a cry and a laugh. Hazel moved forward and wrapped her arms around Lizzie as Lizzie brought Hazel closer in her grasp. 

" Thank you," Hazel whispered as she blinked away her tears and the heavy feeling her throat. They both wanted Catherine here right now, but knowing she was safe was enough.

" She's been making me cry since day one," Lizzie joked as hazel pulled back and the table erupted in laughter. They spent breakfast in a happy mood and Lizzie stayed a bit after until brunch time, sipping on coffee, chilled out, laughing and cracking jokes with the Burnetts as Hazel laughed and laughed, feeling her heart full for the first time in ages. That's when there was a knock on the door.

" Blasted, who could that be at this time?" Harry said throwing his kitchen towel over his shoulder and heading up the step towards the door. Harry opened the door as the three women watched and saw Harry's face light up.

" I knew it was you!" Harry called, stepping out to hug the person on the other side, " C'mon in ya blood Yank, gave me half a scare." Hazel raised a brow watching as Lizzie sipped her tea softly. That's when it was non-other than Joe Liebgott who stepped through the door, a smirk upon his features, hair a bit fluffier than normal, and a bouquet of flowers in his grasp. She watched Lizzie smirk and lean over to Hazel and Grace.

" And supposedly he's just a best friend." Lizzie murmured. Hazel shoved Lizzie's shoulder as Lizzie chuckled. Grace smiled at the blush that bloomed on Hazel's face.

" There she is!" called Joe as he entered the kitchen and went over to Hazel first, grabbing her in a hug from behind.

" These are for you." Joe said as he handed her the flowers.

" Aw thank you, Joe," Hazel said, fighting down more of a blush than she ever had.

" Where'd you get them, Joe?" grace asked as Joe gave her a quick hug.

" Down at the market, they have the best flowers there." Joe said, before giving Lizzie a quick hug and resuming standing next to the little island a smile on his features as he watched Hazel gently sniff the flowers and smile at them. 

" Thank you, Joe, really." Hazel said.

" What can I say? You're turning 20, I say yellow flowers are pretty important for that." Joe said and Hazel grinned. 

" Harry, get Joe some coffee." Grace said as Harry bustled about the kitchen.

" You have anything planned for the day?" Grace asked to the 3 paratroopers, but no one in particular. 

" Well, I know George is down at the pub setting up for a rather big party." Joe said glancing at Hazel.

" Really?" Hazel asked him. 

" Oh yeah, he was the one with the idea and everyone was on board. Plus, we have some free time, so why not?" Joe said as he took the coffee from Harry and took a gleeful sip from it. 

The morning was spent very cheerful, talking and laughing, and that night truth be told, there was a party at the pub set up by the very own George Luz and Hazel had never had more fun at a party. There were a few friends missing, but Hazel knew they were always there in spirit. Hazel had never been more grateful for the men; they had the ability to distract her from the war, this world and show her what friendship truly was and what pure joy was. She had never loved a group of guys more. 

Then the replacements stepped in. 

They were all fresh and clean and bright-eyed and their smiles were joyous and they had a set of mouths of each of them. Talking about everything under the sun, their voices loud and immature. They were not of Toccoa descent and they were not respectful of the Virago women that were part of the company. But the Toccoa men had accepted the women of Virago descendent as if they were members of Toccoa because of how difficult their training had been and how strong they were as women, as soldiers and paratroopers. 

The replacements had about 8 months of training compared to long 2 and 1/2 years many of the war-veterans had experienced and it showed. Not just in ability and strength level, but in respect and maturity and ability to hold a conversation even. The ability to simply respect the Viragos. They were cocky and rude and confident. Some were nicer than others and more willing to take advice and guidance from the veterans but others were against it and attempted everything mostly by themselves. 

The first time people really saw the side of replacements that had been undermined was during Lizzie's medical lesson where people were slowly falling back into a routine and the swing of everything and getting the replacements truly adjusted. Hazel had been sitting and working with Shifty, her usual partner on such things when a commotion was heard from the general area near the front. Lizzie was on the ground in front of a 2 replacements.

" How'd you even qualify for this? I mean shouldn't you be popping out babies instead?" the replacement asked as the other replacement cowered in his shoes, face pale, wanting nothing more than to not be partnered with the man. 

" How about you just focus on what you're supposed to be doing alright, Private?" Lizzie said, narrowing her eyes, " I'm trying to help you so you don't bleed out on the field."

" Go back to the kitchens already, doll, we got plenty of men already, we don't need a woman screwing things up." the Private said and Lizzie's eyes narrowed. But just then Gene appeared.

" What's going on here?" he asked as Lizzie slowly stood up and crossed her arms, stepping back.

" He doesn't want instructions from me clearly." Lizzie answered as Gene glanced at her and then the Private. Gene narrowed his eyes. 

" What's the issue?" Gene asked the Private.

" Oh come on, Doc, ya serious? She should be in the kitchen, cooking pies, stuff like that." the Private said.

" Now, Private, you don't talk to women that way do you?' Gene asked him. 

" No, I need a wife sooner or later." the Private said. Gene gave him a look.

" Telling them that, won't get you one at all then." Gene said, " And you're in war for Christ-sake, I think if God were kneeling in front of you you wouldn't say that." The Private stared at Gene.

" She's the only way you'll make it out alive if you get hit on that battlefield, do you understand me, Private?" Gene said, " If you can't handle a woman, a strong one at that treating you, you won't last a day in the field when the bullets start flying." And that was the cold hard truth that no one ever accepted until they got into war.

" Now," Gene said as he stood up next to Lizzie again, " I shouldn't have to come back over here again." And that was final. Gene had almost lost his temper on the Private, but Lizzie had just wished she had the courage to say something. It was demeaning and words like that hadn't been thrown at the Virago women for quite some time, so she just reverted back a bit. What scared her was that it had sounded like the man she had just cut herself off from before going to Camp Athene. It's why she had frozen up. Because her ex-boyfriend had sounded the same way. Lizzie walked past them later and slowly crouched in front of them.

" You know, Private," Lizzie said as the angry Private looked at her, his partner terrified out of his mind and not wanting a single piece of it, " you're momma brought you into this world and she can take you right out, but she's not here right now, right?" The Private stared.

" All she wanted was a bit of fun, and she managed to get stuck with you 9 months later." Lizzie said, " What a damn shame." The Private grumbled.

" Don't disrespect the person that brought you into this world and don't disrespect the one that can bring more people into it as well." Lizzie said quietly. The Private watched her. Lizzie then stood and brushed off her hands, walking down the center of the isle again and met Hazel's eyes. She smiled proudly in a way. 

But that wasn't the end of it. 

The flirting was well, obnoxious, but what can you expect from a bunch of fresh-out-of-highschool sorta guys. Sure, Tab and George their flirting was playful and they knew boundaries, but these guys just went for it and were convinced they'd get something out of it in the end. It especially got old when either of the two girls would walk to mess with a few others and they'd get cat-called. 

You couldn't get everyone to respect you, no matter how hard you tried. 

But they'd rather be even the slightly bit respected than be nothing. 

It was near dinner, and slowly getting darker out as the Hazel walked side by side in the warm night air with Liebgott, when they heard voices. 

The replacements.

" Hey, darlin', meet me outside after?" a voice called, and Joe and Hazel stopped their conversation. Hazel glanced towards them.

" Don't give them the time of day," muttered Joe to her as she bit her lip and turned her head away.

" Oh, come on, have a little fun!" his friend called out as she could feel the tension radiating from Joe. 

" Hey, sweetheart who's your friend?" Joe and Hazel kept walking, but Hazel couldn't keep her mind from listening to their conversation.

" Forget her guys, maybe she doesn't want to talk to us." one guy said sarcastically with a laugh. 

" There's another girl here, we can ask her." one said and the group laughed. Hazel glanced up at Joe who's eyes were narrowed, hands shoved in his pockets angrily, an expression of disgust across his features. Hazel wanted to say something, she wanted to, but the insults reminded her of her schooling years and she just wished she had an ounce of power to say something, to stop the voices, but her mind stayed frozen. She hated it was that way.

" What's your name, good looking!" one of the guys called to her.

" You gotta have a good name!"

" Shut the fuck up." Joe snapped as he turned around and looked at them, pulling the cigarette from his lip. The group of replacements all stopped in their tracks as Joe took a few steps towards them. 

" Who are you?" one guy pipped up from the front.

" Your worst fucking nightmare," Joe said, as he placed the cigarette on his lips again and puffed out a smoke," I don't want to hear your mouths saying a word to her again. You understand me?" 

" We'll still do it," one guy said.

" Free country," another said. Joe stared coldly at him, his icy gaze penetrating that young replacement's.

" Hey, man what's your issue?" one replacement snapped.

" My issue is, you're not treating her right, and I don't like that. Either grow up or go home. There's a reason you're here." Joe snapped. The replacements stared at him.

" Disrespecting her or any women, is never the reason." Joe snapped again, " you're here to fight a war. And that war's a scary thing, so open your damn eyes and get that through your brains." Joe then put the cigarette back on his lips, and turned away from them and walked back over to Hazel who stared with wide eyes at him. He just placed an arm over her shoulder and turned her around. 

" I promise you right now that I'm fuming inside." Joe said to her through the cigarette on his lips. Hazel smiled softly. 

Joe always had her back, even when she felt she couldn't say anything. Because words like that were demeaning and she wanted to say something, but a woman's place, right now, Hazel had felt a bit powerless, even though Viragos virtually were highly respected and thought of as strong. Sometimes, there were moments where Hazel wasn't strong and that was okay. That's why friends were a nice thing to have, they backed you up when you couldn't. 

The rest of the walk there, the two didn't hear the voices from the replacements at all. Many didn't believe it when they heard that Hazel was the only sniper and a female and would remain the only sniper. They talked down on the girl who had war experience, and experience of killing a man, and laughed when they got no response from her. 

Bill Guarnere flipped on a few replacements afterwards. It was quite the sight to see.

When news broke that Catherine, Lip, and Tab were returning from the hospital, Hazel couldn't have been more excited to finally see them and in better circumstances. Hazel had dressed in her beige skirt and she had her Class A top, but it was undone in the front, and her tie was loose around her neck, as she went racing through the streets, brunette hair whipping behind her, a smile on her face. Hazel had found most of the company hurrying into the main center of town where the returnees were, and a smile found its way onto her face. Hazel slowly approached and managed to wriggle her way through people until she found Catherine, standing there with a smile on her face and not a bruise or scar to be seen. She looked happy and healthy and there wasn't a sign of any tears like on D-Day.

" Tiny!" cried Catherine as she noticed the girl making her way through the crowd. Catherine immediately ran up and wrapped her arms around Hazel in a tight hugged as Hazel wrapped her arms around Catherine. 

" Mack!" cried Hazel, as tears spiked her eyes. She heard Catherine's gentle laugh in her ear, as Hazel rubbed her back excitedly. Catherine pulled back and looked at Hazel's eyes. They were dull, but there was a bit of brightness in them. Hazel had never been happier to see Catherine and see Catherine looking genuinely happy. It made Hazel happy.

" How are you doing?" Catherine asked.

" I should be asking you that." Hazel said with a smile, as a stray tear leaked out. Catherine couldn't help but hug the girl again gratefully. Hazel relished the hug with Catherine, she had missed her so much out there, but she had made it and she knew she could.

" How's your shoulder?" Hazel asked as Catherine rolled it around a bit and shrugged.

" Getting better everyday, mobility's a bit rough. But I'm not letting that stop me." she said with a brave smile.

" You never would." Hazel said with a smile.

" Mack!" a voice cried and the two girls turned to see Lizzie come full speed toward Catherine. Catherine hugged Lizzie tightly in her arms the widest smile upon her lips as Lizzie pulled back with the widest smile on her own. Hazel turned and saw Tab there hugging Liebgott excitedly. Tab then caught Hazel's eye and a smile broke out on his face. He was dressed in his uniform, and his smile was bright and his eyes wide.

" Tiny!" he called as he came over to her. Hazel felt a smile light up her face as he wrapped her in a tight hug. Hazel wrapped her arms around his neck as he hugged her tighter, giving her an extra tight squeeze. He pulled back and looked down at her. 

" How are you feeling?" she asked him.

" Ok I guess," he said shrugging, " not everyday I get a spear through my chest." Hazel snorted. All the sudden Hazel spotted Lip in the corner of her eye.

" Lip!" Lipton wandered over in his uniform walking up to Tab and Hazel and giving Hazel a warm hug.

" How are you doing?" she asked him.

" I'm doing ok, thanks to you two for getting me to the aid station back there." Lip said smiling at the two. Tab glanced at Hazel and smiled.

" That was all Hazel, she was quick thinking." Tab said.

" Oh no, I was just..." Tab and Lip looked at her, " I was just helping, trying my best."

" Well it saved my life, now I have to go find Winters, but I'll see you two later." Lip said and walked away. Tab looked back at Hazel.

" I call it luck that I made it there or time." Hazel said, and Tab raised a brow.

" Nah, I'm pretty sure you saw me running to help and figured you just had to be in my presence." Tab argued back."

My life does not revolve around you, Tab." Hazel said with a small smile, and Tab feigned being wounded.

" You wound me, Hazel." he said, and Hazel smirked. 

" Hey Tab, go to the mess hall, Smokey's got something for you." someone called out.

" Be right there!" Tab called and turned to Hazel.

" I'll see ya around Tiny." he said and turned with a smile and followed the group of rowdy boys to the mess hall. Hazel turned and noticed Liebgott walking over to her with a smoke hanging on his lips, in his Class A beige uniform without the coat, his cap hanging from his belt around his waist.

" Hey," she said as he sauntered over in front of her. 

" Wanna head over to the mess hall and get something to eat?" he asked.

" Yeah, that sounds good." she said as Liebgott wrapped an arm over her shoulder and the two talked as they walked towards the mess hall. 

" Hey! Pst..Lizzie!" a voice called and Lizzie turned from the happy group as Catherine hugged Johnny to see Malarkey calling to her from behind a wall. Lizzie raised a brow but hurried forward slipping behind the wall to find Alton More there, Malarkey and an Army-issued motorcycle.

" What are you doing?" Lizzie asked.

" Wanna join in?" More asked her, as he sipped the beer. Lizzie weighed her options and a smirk grew on her face.

" Hell yeah." she said as gleefully jumped on behind More as Malarkey took the side seat. That's when they took off. Malarkey had beers from a pretty woman in town and a smile on his face as Lizzie held on tight to More's waist praying she wouldn't fall off. 

It had never been more freeing. 


	47. the good overpowers the bad

" Always be a little kinder than necessary."

_\- J. M. Barrie_

✰✰✰

" Yahoo!" called Lizzie excitedly.

" This is great!" called Malarkey as Lizzie felt the wind finally hit her face. She reached up a hand to brush her hair back from her face. She shut her eyes in complete glee at the feeling of freedom that surrounded her. More drove the motorcycle with ease as Malarkey and Lizzie, like two children called out joyfully as the sun beat down on them in their Class-A uniforms. They came upon Aldbourne and Lizzie held on to More's waist as the breeze picked up and she smiled wide. They all laughed joyfully together as they went along through the town where men dressed in their own Class-A uniforms were.

" Currahee!" the trio called out all at different times with equal excitement to no one in particular. 

" She fancied me, Alton." Malarkey said as Lizzie rolled her eyes.

" In your dreams, buddy." More said and Lizzie laughed. Suddenly a loud beeping echoed from in front of them as a large truck came around the corner and screams and yells escaped their mouths. More swerved the motorcycle immediately and Lizzie laughed wildly it seemed.

" Jesus Christ!" Malarkey yelled glancing back at the truck, as the three then began laughing manically. Malarkey turned and raised his beer in the air like a drunk man and Lizzie laughed more. More drove them through an open barn where other soldiers were and into the clearing by the designated mess hall for Easy.

" It's good to be alive!" Malarkey called. More pulled the motorcycle around and parked it.

" That was a hell of a ride, Alton." Lizzie said as she turned and slid off the motorcycle with a smile.

" You said it." More said as he parked it and hopped off as well.

" Jesus Christ, that sure was close." Malarkey said sipping the beer and then handing it to Alton. 

" Nah, missed him by a mile." More said confidently and Lizzie snorted. The mess hall was rather chaotic. Men gathering food, calling out to one another, clapping, cheering, people getting up and speaking.

Chaos.

Catherine sat next to Harry, having been provided a leather army jacket similar to the ones Nixon and Winters both had. She had missed the Normandy campaign and had been upset about that for a bit while she had been evacuated but she focused on healing and getting better as quickly as she possibly could. So there she sat, laughing at something Harry had said to her as they sat atop the lunch table, snickering quietly like a bunch of school children. Catherine looked back towards the group of men and a small smile slowly set on her face.

Her eyes caught Hazel who walked through the slew of men, with a cup of water in her hand, as she stopped by Chuck to give him a hug before heading back over to her spot which was next to Liebgott and Tab. Lizzie had yet to show up, but Catherine knew about the rendezvous that More and Malarkey managed to rope her into. Catherine spotted the crew coming in and gathering their plates, just as Smokey Gordon freshly returned from the hospital stand up in front of the group, 3 purple hearts pinned to his chest. Hazel slid into her spot next to Liebgott with her water, letting out a grateful sigh, as her hair fell out around her face, and her collared beige top was loosely unbuttoned from the heat inside the mess hall.

" The Night of the Bayonet." Smokey started, " The night was filled with dark and cold, when Sergeant Talbert-" Smokey fumbled, as More nudged him and everyone laughed, " the story's told, pulled on his poncho and headed out, to check the lines dressed like a Kraut." Hazel had initially been upset about Tab being bayoneted, but now it was quite the story to tell, even if she did hold a soft spot for Tab because of it all. Cheers rose up through the group and clapping ensued as Catherine chuckled as Winters walked past her and gave her a smile. 

" Why is everyone in such a hurry to get back, huh? Hospital food don't suit ya?" Malarkey asked as he shoved at Talbert's head.

" We don't need ya anymore Tab, we got all the fucking replacements." More said as Liebgott and Hazel shifted over and him and Malarkey sat down. 

" Lizzie!" George called and shifted over for her to squeezed in between him and Skip with her food.

" You look wild." George told her.

" Yeah, it's called a joyride." Lizzie said as a wide smile possessed her features.

" No way," George said, " you managed to snag one?" 

" Oh hell yeah." Lizzie said smirking.

" Upon a trooper our hero came, fast asleep, he called his name." Smokey said as Catherine watched the blur of a figure enter the room to her left. She turned slightly and saw it was Nixon. 

" Oh, Smith!" Smokey cried as Hazel laughed lightly. She could see Smith shaking his head in regret.

" Get up, it's time, to take your turn out on the line." Smokey said as cheers rose up. Tab licked his lips as he turned and glanced toward Smith who glanced nervously back. Hazel laughed. " Do you guys have any idea what he's talking about?" Les Hashey asked his friend group.

" The Night of the Bayonet." Antonia Garcia said, " Whatever that is."

" ...So very weary, cracked an eye all red and bleary," Smokey continued as Catherine felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Nixon. He guided her to the circle of Harry, and Buck, before they brought in Lip. Her eyes widened at what Nixon said. 

" Grabbed his rifle, he did not tarry. Hearing Floyd, but seeing Jerry." Smokey said and the whole room erupted into laughter.

" Way to go, Smithy!" someone yelled. 

" It's me, cried Tab." Smokey said, " Don't do it, and yet Smith charged, too sweet, with bayonet he lunged, he thrust, both high and low, and skewered the boy from Kokomo." Hazel let out another laugh as Tab smirked to himself, Malarkey rubbing his shoulder as he laughed.

" I'm heading back to barracks." Babe Heffron said standing as he turned and a man stopped him.

" You Heffron?" Bill asked the red head replacement. Lizzie glanced up at the red head and smiled.

" Yeah." the man answered. 

" Where ya from?" Bill asked as Skip held out his hand in waiting.

" Who's asking?" the man asked Bill. 

" You from Philadelphia?" Bill asked him.

" South Philly, yeah." Heffron said. 

" Ah, I could tell. 17th street." Bill said as Heffron smiled.

" Front street." Heffron said and held out his hand to shake as Bill smiled.

" Come here sit down." Bill said as Lizzie shifted over, and Luz followed.

" What?" Lizzie asked in exasperation. " How?"

" Since you weren't wounded by the enemy, and thus didn't qualify for a Purple Heart, we've taken matters into our own hands." Smokey said. Catherine nodded to Lip before leaving with Nixon. This was a whole new set of responsibilities.

" Tab, this is for you." Smokey said holding up a Purple Heart from his chest. Cheers erupted all over the mess hall, cheering for Floyd. Everyone loved him anyway and they loved seeing a makeshift ceremony for him put together. 

" Yeah, Mr. Talbert!" Liebgott called out as Luz gave him a smack on the back.

" I could have shot the kid a dozen times." Tab called confidently.

" Yeah, right!" Liebgott yelled back, as everyone laughed.

" I just didn't think we could spare a man." Tab said with a smirk. Everyone started bantering with each other and shoving each other and people were laughing and cheering; it was a good time.

" Couple of announcements men and women." Lipton called as he stood in front of the group. 

" First, listen up." Lip called, as everyone settled down.

" First, the training exercise scheduled for 2200 has been cancelled." Lip said and smiled as cheers and blessing of God surrounded people. 

" Oh thank you god." Lizzie sighed.

" Oh, yeah." called Skip after he had a moment. Luz had never looked so happy clapping to what Lip had stated.

" Secondly," Lip said holding up his hand, " all passes are hereby revoked." It got silent, as people's faces fell at that notion.

" We're heading back to France. So, pack up all your gear. We will not be returning to England, boys and ladies." Lip said. " Anyone who has not made out a will, go to the supply office. The trucks depart for Membury at 0700. As you were." People looked at each other, and sighed or shrugged or let out a breath of air. No one could do anything about it at this point.

" What's this whole thing about?" Catherine asked Nixon as she walked next to him leaving the loud mess hall.

" British Command has some crazy ideas at the moment, so be prepared when you hear this." Nixon said with a smirk as he opened the door for her into Battalion Headquarters, and was followed by Winters, Peacock, Welsh and Buck.

" Lieutenant McCown, great to see you. How's that shoulder?" Strayer asked her. Catherine smiled.

" Never better, sir." she said smiling and saluting him. Catherine looked back at the rest of the leaders for Easy and Nixon smirked. After news of the current situation and why exactly they were heading to Membury was 'interpreted' per say, Catherine found herself out of the officers' quarters pretty quickly and found Skip moving down the road as well, heading towards their billets as night slowly fell, laughing and joking with each other.

" Catherine?" she heard a voice say, as her and Skip stopped walking. Catherine turned her head to see that it was Gene coming up to her. She hadn't seen Gene since that fateful night in Normandy. 

" Wait for me." Catherine said as she turned and headed towards Gene.

" Right, I'll be over here." Skip said and smiled at the two before turning and walking off. Catherine looked back to Gene and walked up to him with a smile. Gene had a small smile on his face as she approached him. 

" Hey, Gene." she said as the smile on her face grew. She stopped in front of him and looked up at him.

" Lieutenant." he said nodding to her pin on her collar. She smiled.

" It's Catherine to you, Gene, I promise ya." she said, smiling at him.

" You look great, how's the shoulder?" he asked her.

" Healing up, took about a month. It's doing well though, I almost have full range of motion back." she said. Gene smiled at her.

" I, uh, wanted to say thank you for what you did for me out there." Catherine said, crossing her arms in front of her, slower than normal with her shoulder, " I was scared, I had never been more terrified in my entire life. You helped me a lot out there though, and I can't thank you enough for that." Gene smiled again, and it made her smile.

" I wasn't lying when I said I would never leave you behind." Gene said looking down at her. Catherine smiled and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

" I mean you dragged me across Normandy, who couldn't thank a person for that?" Catherine said and Gene laughed. 

" It is my job." Gene said and the two laughed.

" Seriously though, Gene, thank you." Catherine said before walking up and wrapping her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. Gene gently wrapped his arms around her waist, after a moment of surprise and hesitation and hugged her tighter. 

" I really can't thank you enough, Gene, I was so scared. I had never felt like that before." Catherine said into the hug.

" I was doing my job, Catherine, I would do the same for any man or woman in the company, but I hope it helped with everything." Gene said softly. Catherine smiled as the two pulled back.

" Skip's waiting for me." she said and nodded her head in the direction Skip had gone.

" Yeah, go ahead, I need to get to the aid station anyways." he said.

" Right, I'll see ya around." Catherine said, giving him a tiny wave before turning and hurrying off to where Skip had been. Gene watched her go before turning and moving towards the aid station. Winters had become a Captain in no time and many people in the company were happy for him to finally get the promotion he deserved.

Life went back similar to what it had been before the Normandy jump, as practices and weapons training continued as well as PT. Winters was CO at the moment and even though he was tough when he needed to be, no one would ever be Sobel, but everyone believed Winters had the best intentions. Many of the new replacements started to get a taste of Toccoa veterans as well as the Viragos, and what they really were about. Bull's squad became all replacements, he was the only squad that was made up entirely of them. Other replacements were spread out everywhere else. Bill began introducing Edward, who everyone ended up calling Babe, to the men and the ladies. Bill had walked up to Hazel who was cleaning her sniper and chatting with Chuck next to her and was cleaning his own.

" Tiny!" Bill called as he approached and her head shot up and over.

" Bill." she said softly as she approached with grease all over her fingers, as she attempted to wipe it off. Babe was standing next to Bill fiddling a bit.

" This is Heffron, Babe if you will." Bill said. " This is Hazel Parker, our sniper."

" Nice to meet you." Hazel said shaking his hand, thank god he didn't mind the grease.

' Nice to meet you, too." Babe said.

" Babe lives in South Philly," Bill said, " Good ole Philly folks." Hazel smirked with a smile. 

" Right." she said.

" You know where Mack is?" Bill asked her. 

" No, she was with Nixon earlier though." she explained.

" We'll see ya around, kid." Bill said as Babe shyly waved at her and she waved back. Hazel walked back over to Chuck and sat down who was staring at her with a raised brow.

" What?" Hazel asked. Chuck smiled and shook his head. She just chuckled to herself. Hazel said bye to Chuck with her weapon and headed back towards a nearby barn.

Easy was called on for a jump, but then it was called off, and so was a second jump that was then called off and Membury was pushed from the picture as they hunkered in Aldbourne. It was a mess.

The replacements were a bit antsy because of it, but the Toccoa NCOs had calmed their nerves, offering an invite to a pub a few nights before another planned jump. Hazel hoped that with a fear instilled in the replacements that they would eventually calm down and get out their nervous jitters, but Hazel knew that wouldn't happen until their first combat jump just like herself.

Since the company had gotten back from the Normandy Campaign, they went to the pubs regularly on their nights that weren't designated for training purposes. Hazel usually went some nights, and would take a Coke and chat with a few of the guys, sometimes with Lieb or Bill and Joe, and she was getting to know Babe better as well. Or she'd hang with Shifty or sometimes Malarkey.

It changed all the time, Johnny was even teaching her and helping her to play darts. Catherine had shown up and wandered over to where Johnny and Hazel were with the dart board. Hazel looked frustrated. She had discarded of her Class-A top to the beige button up underneath and her hair was becoming undone. Catherine, even with the Lieutenant rank, she was a lot like Buck, hanging out with the enlisted. Hazel attempted to throw another dart but missed.

" For a sniper I sure have bad aim." she sighed out and passed the dart to Johnny. 

" You're giving up?" Johnny asked defeated.

" I've tried too many times." Hazel said. 

" I'm not allowing you to give up." Catherine said stepping forward.

" Mack!" Hazel said a smile lighting up her face. Catherine smiled.

" C'mon shoot the dart, you'll get it. There's a reason you became a sniper." Catherine said. Hazel sighed and took the dart from Johnny's hand again and lined up again.

" Never took you for one to play darts." a new voice said and the trio looked over to see Liebgott there.

" Shut up, Joe." Hazel scoffed. Joe raised a brow but Catherine gave him a look with a smirk.

" I have a dart in my hand, Joseph." Hazel hissed, eyes focused on the dart board, " And the ability to focus on multiple things at once. I see the face you're making." 

" Shut up," Joe mumbled as he leaned back and watched sipping his beer. Hazel lined up the dart and aimed again.

" Remember what I said." Johnny offered.

" Just take a deep breath and throw it." Hazel said, launching the dart from her hands. It clattered to the ground. Hazel looked at it glumly.

" You'll get it, I don't doubt it." Catherine told her.

" Doubt has a lot of grey area, Catherine." Hazel sighed as she walked forward to get the dart from the ground.

" Let me show ya." Joe said as he pushed from the counter and walked to her side. She glanced at him.

" No." Hazel said, a small smirk on her face.

" Good luck Joe, she's rubbing off on you." Catherine said leaning back to watch. Hazel laughed.

" No?" Joe said a smirk on her face, " Come on, I wanna help you." Hazel pulled the dart back shaking her head. Joe stared at her, a smirk on his face.

" What? No best friend privileges?" he said. Best friend privileges; a cute little phrase that Hazel and Joe had started tagging onto the end of things, when they would play around and they couldn't get what either of them wanted, or just to annoy the other.

" Not on this one." Hazel said turning and facing the dart board, taking aim. 

" Bring your hand back more." Joe told her. Hazel glanced at him.

" Huh?" 

" Your hand, bring it back more," Joe said, " like this." He walked up to her and pulled her hand back to a bit past her eyes.

" Try now." Hazel let the dart leave her fingers and watched as it hit the dart board this time. Hazel's eyes widened. 

" See," Joe said and leaned down to whisper in her ear, " what are best friends for?" Hazel turned with a smirk and punched his shoulder.

" Asshole." Hazel murmured.

" Hey you hit the dart on the board didn't ya?"

" I did, alright." Hazel said as she shoved Joe leaving him laughing. Hazel was only this sarcastic because her period had surprisingly returned. It had all but disappeared for a while, but it came back from falling to a less stressful routine. And she was moody, angry and cranky, but Lieb knew that. He managed to bring her some chocolate, her favorite, the other day. He had shown up on the Burnett's doorstep, with a box of chocolate after hearing that the girl wasn't going out with the guys to the local pub because her cramps kept her curled into the tiniest little ball on the couch, with a sad frown on her lips. The chocolate had taken away most of the immediate pain.

But Hazel couldn't get herself to bed at night anymore. She had dreams about what might've happened in that German she almost ran into on D-Day had gotten to her. It upset her. She was upset that she couldn't sleep because of the stupid dreams.

One night, after a fun dinner with the Burnett's, watching the sunset with Grace and Henry, and feeding the chickens, she managed to fall asleep. But she heard the German voice in her head, and the gunshots and explosions and she could see Lip getting hurt, and the pain on his face, every ounce of it. It scared her and haunted her, deep down inside of her. She envisioned Tab, lying there, bleeding out; what scared her was that in the dream, he died.

Tab had died.

But what terrified her was imagining how Catherine had been hurt, how she had been injured. She remembered seeing Gene dragging her into the town under the darkness. She watched the horrors repeat over and over again in her brain. It was all she could see. Over and over with gunshots in her brain, echoing in her ears until it propelled her awake. She was sobbing, she was sweating and she felt blind as the rain poured down entering her ears.

Hazel shot up out of bed, staring straight forward, tears crawling down her cheeks, as the rain poured heavily above her. Hazel slowly put a hand to her mouth, and squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a sob, an anguished one.

Her cries were in fits of emotions, like water falling.

Hazel's cries were so weak and vulnerable sounding; her heart ached. Hazel let herself fall onto her back in the bed and turn on her side and let herself just cry, get out all her horrible emotions. She cried softly, but her heart just hurt too much to try and make them actually soft. Then suddenly, it was quiet, except for the rain coming down hard. Hazel stared out the window; she couldn't see any stars like she usually could. She felt she had cried all she could out of her system as she lied there.

She felt so empty, like there was a pit inside her chest. Hazel shut her eyes as a tiny tear trailed down her cheek, and she let it stay there. She didn't have the heart to wipe it away.

The next morning, she woke up and it all came rushing back to her and her heart sunk. Hazel slowly stood up and swung her legs over the edge as she recognized that her clothes were filled with sweat. She slowly stood up and left the room, heading downstairs. Her footsteps were quiet and slow, as she managed to get downstairs. She turned down to step into the beautiful kitchen, that opened up towards the field for the farm behind them. She found Grace was awake, and bustling around the kitchen in the morning, as the sweet smell of fresh grass and rain washed in through the open window above her sick which overlooked the field next to their house.

" Good morning," Hazel said softly as she entered the kitchen and slowly took a seat at the table in what had been designated as her spot over the past year.

" Good morning, honey, how are you?" Grace asked with a smile, turning to the girl with two cups of tea.

" I'm ok." Hazel said quietly with a nod as she took the cup in her hands. Grace watched Hazel with motherly eyes, caring and warm, trying to figure out what was bothering her.

" Is something wrong, dear?" Grace asked Hazel, looking at her, in the dim light of the bulb in the nearby lamp. Hazel felt tears well up in her eyes, and she looked down, as she closed her eyes hoping it would go away.

" I had a dream," Hazel said quietly. She would always talk about her mom bad dreams at home with her mother, and her mother would listen and give her a cup of her favorite tea at home and they'd sit out on the porch and watch the sun rise over the mountains back at home. 

" If you want to talk about it, love, I'll sit here with you for however long you want." Grace said. Hazel smiled sadly at her.

" In my dream, I could see Tab, my friend, getting hurt," Hazel said and looked at Grace, " and in the dream instead of living, he died, right in front of me." Hazel felt tears slowly fall down her cheeks.

" I couldn't do a thing, in the dream, it was like I was frozen there, stuck in this time warp where all I could do was watch." whispered Hazel. Grace slowly reached forward and took Hazel's hand in hers, like her mother would.

" I know I can't do much to change the dream you had, but Tab is ok, remember that. You told me yourself. God made sure of it." Grace said with a smile to Hazel. Hazel nodded. 

" It scared me, because it felt so real," Hazel said, biting back her trembling bottom lip.

" I know," whispered Grace, gently rubbing the pad of her thumb across Hazel's hand, which soothed her, " they always do. But bad dreams do that just to scare you. It's why they're called a bad dream." Hazel looked toward Grace with a small smile. 

" Thank you." Hazel said and Grace smiled.

" I haven't really told anyone this, only Harry knows, but I served in the Great War." Grace said, and Hazel's eyes widened.

" Really?" Hazel asked.

" Yes, I did. And I used to get dreams. Bad ones. I was a married woman, to Harry, and I thought I was the toughest lady anyone would ever know. I worked to make sure that nurses that were sent to the front lines had supplies, a Head Nurse if you will, and I had to make sure that men who died, got their tags back to their families and that their families knew. It was a sad thing to do, but the flip side of helping people to save them was always something that put things into perspective. I got terrible dreams," Grace said, and Hazel looked at her."

You did?" Hazel asked her and Grace nodded.

" Terrible, my god, I remember waking up in the middle of the night as a 30 year old woman back in 1920, crying, in hysterics basically, imagining the soldiers that had survived dead. It was terrible." she said. 

" How'd you get through it?" Hazel asked her, as Grace handed her a handkerchief for her watery eyes.

" I tried not to think about those bad things, sure they would always be a part of my life, and of course that's part of accepting it all, but I didn't let it rule the person I was." Grace said.

" If I'd let it do that, I probably never would've been where I am now, helping out at the local pharmacy with medicine prescriptions and such." Grace said. She noticed Hazel's youthful eyes searching hers, her wise ones, for answers still.

" Hazel, look at me," Grace said, and Hazel watched her, " you are one of the most beautiful young women I've ever seen in my life, and you will be very successful in your future, I can already tell. It reminds me of my younger self sometimes, seeing you around and helping and smiling and laughing. I know you have quiet determination, and courage inside you, I've seen it." Hazel smiled wide at Grace as she wiped at an extra tear.

" It's accepting that these things have happened and moving on, you can't let bad moments ruin your time on Earth, like that dream. Think about the fun times, the happy times, the celebratory times; times like that are better and more memorable than any bad moment." Grace said.

" Bad moments, even though they are crucial in life to have, I tend not to worry about them." Grace said with a wise smile.

" Why?" Hazel asked.

" Bad moments are temporary, happy moments are immortal." Grace said, and Hazel felt her heart warm. Hazel looked at Grace with a small smile.

" Thank you." she said, squeezing Grace's hand tightly, "For everything."

" Come here." Grace said and Hazel stood and the two hugged each other. Hazel felt like she were back in her mother's arms. They were warm and comforting and she felt safe with a mother's touch. Grace pulled back and looked at her. 

" You can always make something good out of a bad thing, no matter what it is, remember that." Grace said and Hazel nodded with a smile.

" Now, let's start making some breakfast, I'm famished." Grace said and Hazel nodded with a smile. Grace was right; good, in her mind, always overpowered the bad.

**_By the time Easy Company was pulled off the line on June 29, they had lost 65 men. Albert Blithe never recovered from the wounds he received in Normandy. He died in 1948. ( < I knew this wasn't true, but I quite like adding these blurbs at the end of the episodes :))_ **


	48. late night talks

" Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Replacements. 

Never were there a more fascinating group of young men who joined up in Easy Company. Fascinating as in, cocky, and interesting as in rude. 

And the best thing to happen yet since Easy Company had made it to September?

Sergeant Jenkins? 

Got himself in a fight with a few of his own replacements and got transferred from the 82nd to the 101st, placed into Dog Company. Catherine just hoped that Lieutenant Speirs had a field day with that asshole and she'd never have to see his face again. Catherine's shoulder was improving, more than it had been back in August and now her mobility was better, but she still needed weekly physical therapy sessions. It sucked, but Catherine went. 

In early September after a few miscalls on jumps, Easy finally made way to Membury, and Hazel felt that leaving the Burnett's behind was the worst pain in her heart that she had felt in a long time. But Hazel was determined to go back to that beautiful home, with those beautiful people and see them again and relive the memories that helped her through the beginning of this war. But it was like telling each other, see ya later alligator, like they knew they'd see each other. It was a nice feeling simply saying see you soon instead of good bye. Because Hazel was determined to see them again. 

Out of all the replacements, Babe Heffron made the biggest impression, mostly because Bill took him under his wing almost immediately and then Joe Toye tagged on, and then there was George, and Bill and Bull and Catherine - the list sort of went on after that. Babe, even though confident, was a blushing mess in front of the 3 Viragos when the time did come for say mess and they were all sat at a table and one of them would ask him a question and he'd be just saying things, red as a tomato. But he recovered quickly, he was just surprised the Viragos even were talking to him. 

There had been rumors in their training about how they were the the toughest, meanest soldiers, worse than some of the men as they fought bravely in battle. 

Babe had taken it in grains of salt, knowing what images he saw of some of the women and figured that at least not all of them were that way. His momma brought him respecting women, hell a woman had brought him into this world; he felt she was the only one that could take him right out again. 

Babe, rather naive, was fairly observant. 

He noticed Joe and Hazel, the best friends who went from fighting like an old couple, to laughing at each other within seconds, were always together. Catherine on the other hand was always with the officers, her Lieutenant ranking forcing her there, even though, like Buck, she adored spending time with the enlisted. Catherine mostly though would hang around Bill and Joe Toye, and George and sometimes float over to Skip or Malarkey. She had a big circle it seemed and was highly respected. Lizzie, the medic, he had figured out, was usually with Gene Roe, or sometimes with Tab, Smokey and Shifty, and the 4 would give each other a bit of crap, but Babe had heard them once; it was rather hilarious, or sometimes Lizzie would be with George and Perco, a comedic duo Babe thought, or sometimes over with Malarkey. 

But he always knew how close the 3 women were, because they didn't even need to be standing near each other in a bar for him to know that they had a strong connection to one another. 

A Presidential Unit Citation had been issued to the entire unit and each man and woman who served in Normandy wore that pin with pride. Normandy had been rough and many people came back with nightmares and visions and it was only now that they were starting to slowly weed off a bit, a not be as consistent. People were just glad to be back in the safety of Aldbourne. 

And Catherine's duties had picked up, moving between Battalion and then moving to the company. She was never really just the company's and she was never really just Battalion's, she felt she just moved where she was needed, whether helping a platoon leader lead or bringing along a map somewhere. She bridged the gap that was between Battalion and Easy and she was glad she could fill that role. And plus she had fun with Nixon and Winters and a bunch of the other higher ups. Catherine headed into the office where she knew they would be. She hurried up the stairs and then headed in the room where Winters sat behind a desk and Nixon was across from him, leaned up against a desk, arms crossed.

" And Her Highness arrives." Nixon said as Catherine shot him a smile. 

" I prefer Your Worship, but that works too." Catherine said as she dug into her pocket for a pencil. It was there somewhere. Nixon chuckled as Winters barely looked up from his paper.

" They already have you doing reports?" Catherine questioned to Winters as he sighed and sat back, they had months for that.

" No," Winters said, " I'm still working on those letters home to families. Their son died a hero." Catherine sighed to herself.

" Sorry," she said, " I thought it would be about the next jump."

" You just want to actually engage in battle without a gimpy shoulder don't you?" Nixon said.

" Correct, Lewis." Catherine said with a smirk, as Nixon picked up a map and showed it to her. 

" Holland supposedly." Nixon said. Catherine sighed to herself.

" You can't tell me this was Eisenhower's idea." Catherine said.

" Correct, Catherine, British Command thought it up." Nixon said.

" Great," Catherine said.

" Ah, I know, first thing I thought was oh great, let's go parachute into occupied Holland." Nixon said.

" I mean we parachuted into occupied France and called it, oh we found a spot." Catherine said as Nixon chuckled. Catherine smirked before glancing back at Winters. 

" Hey, how about you take a break from that." Catherine said walking towards him and standing in front of his desk. Winters glanced up at her.

" He's a CO, Catherine, not a platoon leader if you remember correctly." Nixon said and Catherine rolled her eyes. 

" He's a human," Catherine countered.

" I'm right here," Winters muttered out in a monotone voice. 

" C'mon, let's let him be." Nixon said, placing a hand on Catherine's shoulder to lead her out.

" Right," Catherine said and followed Nixon out, but sparing a glance back at the stressed out Winters. She knew he loved the position to be able to lead Easy Company, he adored Easy, but she knew those letters were taking a bit, because he truly cared for each of those men. She wished he'd just take a small break, get away from it. He was their beloved CO after all. Her shoulder wasn't aching as much when she moved it so she was glad to give Babe a run for his money at the shooting ranges before moving to mess with Bill and Babe and talking the night away. 

But her worry for Winters never ceased. 

The look in his eyes were similar to the ones of her own college years. So, when she didn't see him after mess that night with Nixon and Harry, she retreated to the officers building with two cups of coffee that were scalding hot in her hands, but she knew Winters would appreciate it. Catherine slowly stepped in the doorway and found Winters sitting by candlelight, working through the letters.

" Hey," Catherine said as she stepped inside. Winters looked up from his letter, a faint smile on his face, before looking down again and typing a few more letters.

" Hi, just finishing up." Winters said, but Catherine sat the still evident stack of papers beside the typewriter.

" Figured I'd keep you company until you finish, I have coffee." Catherine offered and Winters glanced up towards her again.

" Have a seat." he said nodding to the chair in front of him. Catherine walked forward and gently sat down before leaning forward to place the coffee beside his typewriter. 

" Thanks Catherine." Winters said as he took the cup and gently placed it against his lips and took a sip. Catherine offered a small smile and a nod.

" You doing ok up here?" she asked him.

" Have you always been this worried about your past CO's?" Winters asked her. Catherine felt a smirk crawl on her face.

" No," Catherine said," but I know those letters you're writing are a tough topic and figured it'd be nice to take a break every once in a while, stuff like that." Winters glanced up at her.

" Thanks." he said and then went back to typing. Catherine slowly leaned back in the chair and looked up towards the ceiling.

" What do you tell the parents?" Catherine asked him as she heard the writer stop typing. She glanced down towards him seeing him lean back from the typewriter. 

" That their son died a hero." Winters said. Catherine smiled slightly and nodded.

" It seems that's the best thing to say." Catherine said, before quietly sipping her coffee. Winters looked towards her, as the woman sipped the coffee again, her alert eyes darting around a bit. 

" Nix said you went to college?" Winters asked her. Catherine glanced up.

" Yeah, kinda. Uh, Cornell. I didn't get to finish though, I signed up for SPARs instead." Catherine said with a nod. Winters smiled. 

" What'd you study?"

" Psychology, I always thought the human mind was fascinating considering there's plenty of people in the world who are a little crazy if you catch my drift." Catherine said and Winters smirked. A real smirk. 

" I minored in geographical studies with maps and such, I get why Strayer wanted me up here then." Catherine said, and gently tapped her fingers against the coffee cup.

" Yeah, well," Winters said leaning forward to pick up his coffee for another sip, " we're glad you're up. You're shoulder healing up?" 

" Yeah," she said, " it hurts a bit every once and a while, but I've been doing some physical therapy, it's been moving around better. Probably won't be up to speed for another 9 months though." Winters watched her. Winters knew she was upset about her injury, she didn't widely talk about it, but he knew she was upset that she couldn't fight with the men and women in Normandy, she had prepared for so long for that moment only to get injured.

" Where's home for you?" Winters asked her.

" New York State, up in the mountains." she said with a nod, " I miss it sometimes. You?"

" Lancaster, Pennsylvania." Winters said.

" Closer than I thought." Catherine said with a tired smile and Winters nodded.

" You must have a beautiful girl back home, Dick." Catherine said sipping her coffee. Winters gave her a look. 

" You must _not_ have a beautiful girl back home, Dick?" she said correcting her statement, in a questioning tone, so it didn't sound weird, raising her brow.

" No girl." Winters said shaking his head, " I figured after the war I'd focus on that." 

" Smart man." Catherine said with a nod, leaning back.

" What about you?" Winters asked her. 

" Nah," Catherine said, " no wants to date the girl who spends her time studying, who is actually intelligent enough to know right from wrong and not let a guy drag her in, who takes time to go to college, get a job, then join up in the military. No one wants that." Winters found that odd, especially someone like Catherine.

" But you're a natural born leader." Winters said.

" I guess people aren't as big of fans of that as much as the military is." Catherine said. Winters watched her. 

" Well, don't listen to them." Winters told her sipping his coffee.

" Yeah," Catherine said with a nod, " I tend not to, even with everyone thinking I'm a good leader. Leadership is lonely sometimes." 

" I'll second that." Winters told her and a small smile found its way onto Catherine's face as she nodded.

" Back in high school, I was valedictorian and President of the student body, and there were just some people who didn't like the fact I was smart, I mean, I just worked to get there. I wasn't born that way. I just worked for good grades and I made sure I was a good student and I earned that position. It was always the kids who didn't try much either, said I cheated, said no girl could ever be that smart." Catherine scoffed and sat back in her chair.

" Proved them wrong didn't you." Winters said and Catherine met his eye. She shrugged.

" I tried," she said and Winters smiled, " I mean I just played it nice, even if they were mean."

" As you said, Cath, you earned that spot, and look at you now. You have to be one of the most intelligent in the 101st." Winters said and a smile blossomed on Catherine's face.

" Thanks," she said and Winters smiled. He always knew Catherine was smart, and after talking with Nix about learning she had attended college, Cornell to be exact, she knew she was intelligent. So hearing she was 'made fun of' for being simply smart, saddened him. She was flying higher than the rest of them by now. 

" I lead a company of women in SPARs," Catherine said, as she nodded, eyes glazed over as her fingers tapped agains the coffee cup again," I knew each of their names, first, middle and last, I knew where they were from, I knew their birthdays. But it was a job where I didn't expect myself to be thinking as much as I did." Winters looked at her.

" And the thing was, they trusted me, with everything. I mean, I rallied them, it was like a war cry, and even though we knew we wouldn't head to war, we acted like it were coming to us. They all followed behind me with whatever I did." Catherine said, a soft smile poking at the corner of her face, " It was sad to leave them." Winters watched her gently as the Lieutenant stared off her eyes seemingly distant and in a complete different moment, like a memory was flashing by her vision. Catherine blinked a few times and then got herself out of the funk. Winters was still watching her. 

" Are you ok?" Winters asked her.

" Yeah," Catherine said, nodding, " it just, it brings back a lot of memories. You know? I mean I go from living at college, to SPARs, to Camp Athene, then to England on a RAF base and then to Aldbourne and then France. It's just, thinking about it all, with the memories." Winters gave her a tiny smile. Catherine sat with Winters late into the night until eventually sleep overcame her. Coffee seemed to knock her out. Winters was up typing until about 0100 before he finally blew out the candle and rightfully passed out in the chair he sat in. 

When Catherine blinked herself away she was curled on a chair, her neck cramped up, and an indent on the side of her face from being curled into the side of the chair. And Winters was asleep across from her. Catherine sat up, her head swimming in exhaustion and confusion. When did she fall asleep? Just then the door opened and Catherine looked over to see Nixon come walking in.

" What time is it?" she asked in a rough voice.

" 0700." Nixon confirmed, " Figured you would be in here. He still asleep?" Catherine glanced at Winters.

" I guess." she said as she yawned.

" Well," Nixon said," look like they're going through with this plan." 

" You're kidding right?" Catherine asked.

" Wish I was, McCown, but we're making that jump into Holland pretty soon." Nixon said, " Thought you'd be more excited." Catherine glanced at him with a yawn.

" I can promise you I'm excited, but I just slept in a tiny chair, cramped in the corner all night, so I'm not exactly pleased per say." Catherine said as she cracked her back, her minding turning to the thought of jumping into Holland. They'd been under for 5 years, occupied by the Germans. It was only right they were liberated and soon.

" You heard about that Lieutenant Speirs?" George asked Hazel one night at one of the pubs as she sat with him and Perconte. 

" What about him?" Hazel asked as she sipped her Coke.

" I don't know, just that he shot up all those German prisoners on D-Day." Perconte said leaning forward and Hazel looked up at him quickly with concerned eyes.

" Shot them up?" Hazel asked.

" Yeah, supposedly." Perconte said and Hazel stared forward wide eyed.

" Malarkey saw it, where is he?" George said looking around for the red-head.

" Hey, Don! Come here!" yelled George and Malarkey turned from Skip to come over to the trio.

" What's up?" Malarkey asked.

" Speirs shooting up the prisoners, want to tell Tiny here about that?" George said with a smirk on his lips.

" I didn't actually see it, George, I heard it. Remember?" Malarkey said.

" Yeah, yeah, same thing," George said waving it off. 

" I didn't actually see it," Malarkey said, " but remember when I stopped to talk to one of the guys sitting there?" Hazel nodded.

" He was from Eugene, Oregon, we got talking and then I had to head back for Brecourt but, Speirs walked past me, cigarettes, loaded Thompson and I heard firing behind me. I suspected he shot them all." Malarkey said.

" Except for 1." Perconte said leaning forward, showing 1 finger for emphasis.

" And he gave them all cigarettes as well, leaving one guy shaking with one in his trembling grasp." George said in a story telling facade. 

" You asked me to tell the story, so how about you two shut up?" Malarkey said and the duo smirked, and gave each other shoulder shoves.

" He left one behind?" Hazel asked.

" Supposedly, now, it's just a rumor, but the guy gives me the creeps." Malarkey said and Hazel frowned slightly. She wasn't exactly fearful of Speirs, sure, intimidating, but she thought he was a fearless combat leader in battle.

" It's just a rumor right? It could've been anyone." Hazel said. 

" I guess," Malarkey said, " Supposedly there was another guy there with him."

" Whoa, hold up, there was another guy?" George said leaning forward.

" Yeah, some Private." Malarkey said.

" And supposedly he killed a Sergeant in his last platoon." Perconte said and Hazel raised a brow sipping her Coke. 

" The 506th is just full of surprises isn't is?" George said and Perconte laughed.

" I don't know, it's just a rumor but it scared the crap outta me." Malarkey said. It stayed in Hazel's mind the rest of the night, the supposed rumor about Lieutenant Ronald Speirs, when he had basically been the one to get the needed ammo to her. Rumors were rumors, they weren't true they weren't false. They were someone making something up to get everyone to hear it. Hazel didn't believe in rumors even if it were something to keep the guy's heads from the war. 

Hazel had trusted Speirs on D-Day and she would trust him now.


	49. moving out

" The truly brave are soft of heart and eyes, and feel for what their duty bids them do."

_\- Lord Bryon_

✰✰✰

In the middle of September, the company began to see the weather change and the nights started becoming chillier, but that didn't mean the pubs were closed. Almost every free night, they were at the pub, hanging out and talking and drinking. Most people were trying to forget the events of Normandy. Hazel and Joe had arrived at the pub on a brisk night in September as they came from the barracks, where they had started a rather hectic game of footsie before annoying basically everyone. There might've been a broken bunk or two. 

" You broke it." scoffed Hazel as she received the coke from the bartender.

" Oh, I broke it. Who launched herself straight into it?" Joe asked with a smirk. Hazel frowned at him.

" I had to or you'd win." Hazel countered. Joe smirked.

" But it's my fault?" Joe said. 

" If I hadn't done that, you would've won." Hazel said. Joe snickered as Hazel smirked shaking her head.

" So, are we just going to let Bill sleep on that bunk and have it break in the middle of the night?" Hazel asked glancing at Joe. Joe felt a smirk crawl up on his face. 

" Hell yeah." Joe said holding out his hand to shake. Hazel grinned shaking his hand. A few harmless jokes never hurt anyone. Lizzie was currently in what felt like a yelling match with Smokey, Tab and Shifty, just listening to Tab try to explain the plot of Casablanca to Smokey who asked a question just about every 5 seconds. Shifty seemed to be drinking more, trying to lessen the yelling in his ears.

" Tab you've explained it 5 times, it's ok if he doesn't get it. You usually have to watch movies to understand them better." Lizzie said, putting a hand to her head. 

" I'm visual Tab." Smokey countered.

" He's visual." Lizzie said.

" Sorry Elizabeth I didn't know." Tab muttered as Lizzie shook her head with a smirk.

" Maybe you just didn't explain it right." Lizzie told him. 

" I think I'd know if I explained-" Tab froze and the trio watched as his eyes caught on a pretty nurse.

" If you'd excuse me one moment, hi how are you?" Tab standing and taking the woman's hand and kissing the back of it gently. Tab gently led her away as the group looked at each other and snickered. 

" Did Tab seriously just do that?" a voice asked and the three looked up to see Alton walking over with two drinks and a smoke on his lips.

" Are you surprised?" Lizzie asked with a raised brow.

" Surprised? No." Alton said, " You all up for some cards?"

" Why not." Smokey said leaning forward, " Anything to help me stop trying to figure out what Casablanca is."

" Did Tab try explaining it again?" Alton asked as he passed around the cards.

" That and then he went off with a nurse, leaving me on the whole 'Here's looking at you, kid.' thing." Smokey complained.

" Just watch the goddamn movie and don't waste your time." Alton said.

" Hey he was good at it the one time," Smokey said.

" Huh?" Lizzie asked.

" He explained Snow White and the 7 Dwarves to me." Smokey said. Alton and Lizzie gave each other and look and then looked at Smokey.

" And what is it?" Shifty asked leaning forward.

" Some chick hooks up-"

" No! Please, oh god, don't ruin it for me." Lizzie said putting her head in her hands.

" This boy does not pay attention does he?" Alton muttered. 

" He really thought that's what it was about." Lizzie said shaking her head in her hands, " I need more wine."

" Well, don't be asking me what he told me Frankenstein was about." Smokey said." I don't even wanna know." Lizzie said, before sipping down the rest of her wine. 

" Alright, now, Lieutenant, nice and easy. We've still got a shot." George said as Catherine, sat nearby sipping a beer, watching intently. Buck threw the dart and Catherine watched it sail through and hit the dart board. Cheers and groans left the groups mouths.

" Low blow, Buck." called Catherine, sitting on the side line.

" Well, McCown, I don't see you up here throwing darts." Buck said giving her a look.

" I have a mighty fine beer, awaiting me right here." Catherine said, " What more could a girl want?" Buck smirked. 

" Tough break, you're having a tough night." George said, glancing at the Lieutenant who was upping the betting game now.

" People have tough nights." George consoled the man and Catherine snickered at the look Joe Toye offered. 

" I'm sorry, George." Buck said.

" It's alright." George said in a sulking manner as Babe smirked in front of Toye. 

" Nice shot, sir." Bull said handing the darts to Bull, as Bill appeared next to Babe.

" Thank you, Bull." Buck said, handing the darts to Babe.

" Thank you, Lieutenant." Babe said as Toye massaged his shoulders.

" Come Hef, show em what you got." Toye said.

" Here we go." Babe said.

" Double seven." Babe said as he lined up the dar, and then took aim and threw the dart, as it soared and hit the board, receiving cheers from the group.

" You're embarrassing the Lieutenant, here." Bill said as he turned Babe away and offered him a drink.

" Oh, don't mind if I do, Sarge." Babe said sipping the beer. 

" Better start winning money soon, I think your buddies are starting to miss you." Bill said as Catherine glanced toward his group of Miller, Hashey and Garcia.

" Yeah, they do look kind of sad, don't they?" Babe said.

" They're just serious fighting men, that's all." Bull said and Catherine giggled a bit.

" If you call it that, Bull." Catherine called to the group as Bill laughed.

" Well, I think I'm gonna go introduce myself." Bill said leaning toward the rest of the men. 

" Careful what you say now." Bull said, " Don't take much to set my guys off."

" Yeah, and you got some wild-eyed killers right there, Bull." Catherine heard Martin say.

" You know, it's a good thing we weren't gambling." Buck said.

" Oh, boy, we would've gotten killed." George said.

" Wanna bet?" Babe asked, and Catherine held back a laugh. George and Buck were already doing well with their well thought out plan. George had 'briefed' her on the entire thing, but he always did. 

" You wanna bet?" Babe asked again as George and Buck looked at each other.

" No, I'm not much of a gambling man." Buck sighed.

" Pack of smokes." Joe called.

" First one to hit the bull's-eye?" Buck asked. 

" Yeah, one shot, one shot." Babe said.

" Yeah?" Buck asked looking to George, " Make it two?" Catherine watched in pure amusement as George winked at her.

" Two packs, two packs." came the agreement between the group.

" Alright, two packs, here we go, one shot, here we go." said Buck, lining it up perfectly. 

" Lieutenant, are you gonna shoot lefty all night?" George asked him as Catherine smirked.

" Hey c'mon." Toye said, as Babe looked over innocently.

" Just curious 'cause he's right-handed." George argued back. Toye looked to Catherine who sat innocently nearby, sipping her beer.

" George, what would I do without, George Luz?" Buck called as he took aim on his right side and shot the dart straight to the board. 

" Boop!" George called.

" Ooh!" called the trio as they turned to Toye and Babe who looked angry and defeated. 

" Goodness gracious, two packs, gentlemen." George said.

" I know you got 'em, pay up." George said, as Buck chuckled. Just then Hazel walked over with her Coke in hand.

" Hey Tiny!" Joe Toye called excitedly, forgetting about what had just happened to him and Babe.

" Hey!" she said as Toye pulled her into a tight side hug, " How was the game?"

" The Lieutenant here and that asshole won." Joe murmured and Hazel glanced to George and Buck who were splitting their earnings.

" Luck," Hazel said and Toye smiled at her. 

" Let me have a go." Hazel said, looking at the darts in his hands.

" Go ahead." he told her as he placed them in her hands. Hazel gave her drink to him and then lined up in the spot where Buck had been. Hazel looked at the dart board and narrowed her eyes. Hazel positioned her hand in the right area, where Lieb had showed her, and then launched it forward. It landed close to the center.

" Holy shit, Tiny." George called.

" Whoa, hey, Tiny you're on my team next time." Buck called as Hazel smiled up at him.

" What can I say? Practice makes perfect." Hazel said with a smile. Truth be told, her and Johnny had been down here plenty of times practicing and it had helped her. 

" I think she deserves to be on my team." Joe Toye said wrapping an arm around Hazel's shoulder.

" Fine. We get Catherine." George said as Catherine glanced between the two of them.

" No you don't, I ain't playing this stupid thing." Catherine said as George grumbled.

" Well then, to next time George." Joe Toye said and George just shook his head with a smirk. Then Smokey's voice echoed over the entirety of the pub. 

" Hey, y'all, listen up!" he called over the group and everyone's attention turned to him, " I got us an announcement to make." Everyone slowly stood up and looked towards the entrance where Smokey stood right behind Lipton.

" This here is Carwood Lipton." Smokey said.

" He's already married, Smokey." Malarkey called, and laughs rang out around the pub.

" This here is Carwood Lipton, the new Easy Company 1st Sergeant." Smokey said with a smile and automatically cheers rose up around the room for the man. Hazel couldn't stop smiling as she clapped for Lip. 

" As befitting this position, he says he has to make an announcement." Smokey said. Lip looked toward the group walking in front of the group.

" Well, hate to break the mood here, boys and ladies, but uh, we're moving out again. " Lip said before turning and then quickly leaving. Hazel felt her shoulders sag suddenly and the mood shift entirely. Hazel looked at the Coke in her hand and sighed to herself as she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Catherine. Hazel offered a tiny, sad smile her way. Everyone started to then filter out of the bar after that, the mood having turned rather sour. 

Moving out, again - nothing new.

" As you can see this is called Operation Market Garden. In terms of Airborne Divisions involved, this one's even bigger than Normandy. We're dropping deep into occupied Holland. The Allied Objective is to take this road here, between Eindhoven and Arnhem, so that two British armored divisions can move up it toward Arnhem. Our job is gonna be to liberate Eindhoven. Stay there, wait for the tanks." Winters stated. Catherine looked out toward the group of paratroopers from where she stood up with the rest of the leaders of Easy Company, with Nixon, Lip, Peacock, Buck and Harry.

" The entire European advance has been put on hold to allocate resources for this operation. It's Montgomery's personal plan and we'll be under British Command," Nixon stated, which received some groans at the realization that they were now under British Command and not American. 

" The good news is, if this works, these tanks will be over the Rhine and into Germany. It could end the war and get us home by Christmas." Nixon stated and there were a few scattered words of agreement.

" It'll be a day time jump. Intelligence doesn't expect much opposition." Nixon stated, as Catherine stood up next to him and nodded. 

" They think the Krauts that over there in Holland, are mostly just and old men as well." Catherine said with a nod to the group.

" And we should take 'em by surprise. In any case, say goodbye to England. I don't think they're gonna call this one off." Nixon stated as Catherine looked back out to the group, knowing many would be upset by this. 

" Hey! Hey, Lizzie!" a voice called as the group left the tent and she turned to see Malarkey approaching her.

" Hey, what's up?" she asked him, but he just took her shoulder and lead her from the retreating group. She followed beside him curiously. 

" You think they're gonna find out we stole that motorcycle?" Malarkey asked her once he turned to her. Lizzie raised a confused brow.

" Stolen?" Lizzie whispered, " You didn't tell me it was stolen, Don." Malarkey smirked and put his hands on his shoulders.

" I promise it's not a big deal at all, ok?" Malarkey said, " I'm probably overreacting anyway."

" Don!" Lizzie said, " You didn't tell me you stole it!" 

" Ok, ok, I should've let you know, but they can't know it's us right? I mean, it could've been anyone, I mean they could throw the target on Hazel-"

" You think Hazel would be the first viable option to steal a motorcycle?" Lizzie asked him nonchalantly. Malarkey stared at her.

" I mean, you never know." 

" The girl took an extra serving of corn back in Benning and gave them the entire tray back because she felt bad." Lizzie told him. Malarkey looked at her.

" Right," Malarkey said, " whatever, all I know is, if any of them start questioning, it's not us. We'll blame that Sergeant Jenkins jackass right? He's switched to the 101st?" Malarkey asked her. 

" Yeah, just recently." she said. Malarkey nodded with a smile leaning back from Lizzie, crossing his arms.

" Perfect." he said and Lizzie gave him a small smirk. 

" Are you sure though?" Malarkey asked her and Lizzie raised a brow.

" It'll be fine, I mean look at you, a Sergeant now, they won't suspect a thing." Lizzie said.

" That makes it worse if I'm caught." Malarkey said, and placed a hand on his chin, " Alright, ok what's he look like. Jenkins?"

" You've never seen him?" Lizzie asked him, " For starters, like the idiot he is."

" You'll have to narrow that down, Elizabeth." Malarkey told her and Lizzie smirked.

" Fine, tall, brown hair, blue eyes, just as basic as any other." Lizzie offered. 

" Clearly." Malarkey muttered. Lizzie smirked.

" Why?" Lizzie asked him, " Like the description?"

" Just to have." Malarkey said with a shrug.

" Ok," Lizzie said, " you know if they have any coffee?" Malarkey raised a brow.

" It's 4 in the afternoon, you'll be awake all night." Malarkey said with a laugh.

" Um, yeah, it usually calms me down." Lizzie said and Malarkey gave her another odd look. 

" Please, Don, don't worry." Lizzie affirmed, " Nixon droned me to sleep back there."

" Right," Malarkey said, " probably in the mess hall." 

" Ok, thanks," Lizzie said as she adjusted her collar, " and don't worry about that motorcycle it'll be ok. What's life without a little fun?" she called over her shoulder as she turned and hurried towards the mess hall, her coat flying out behind her. 

Malarkey made an attempt not to.

" Now who's more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows?" Catherine asked Lizzie as the two stood in the mess hall grabbing their coffees. 

" It's not as bad as it looks does it? I mean sure maybe Malarkey, More and I together are rather chaotic, but it's fine right. I mean it was just for fun." Lizzie said, " He should've at least told me it was a stolen vehicle first." Catherine smirked.

" Sounds like Malarkey." she said and Lizzie groaned. 

" You won't tell them right? I mean we just wanted to have fun." Lizzie said to Catherine. Catherine grinned.

" I won't, promise. We need a little fun once and a while." Catherine said, and Lizzie grinned, noticing Lizzie tapping her foot and her eye twitching a bit. 

" You sure you need that coffee, Lizzie?" Catherine asked her.

" Huh?" Lizzie asked turning to Catherine as she took a sip.

" The coffee. Are you sure you need it? You're...twitching?" Catherine said in a questioning tone.

" I'm fine promise," Lizzie said, hell everyone pointed it out now, " I'm fine." Catherine watched her curiously.

" You doing ok?" Catherine asked her.

" Yeah, haven't been sleeping, so I'm trying to stay awake." Lizzie said, " My mind just runs a lot, but it's fine." Catherine eyed her, but Lizzie didn't react her gaze caught on something else as she picked up creamer.

" You sure?" 

" Yeah, of course," Lizzie said, " I gotta catch up with Gene, we have a bit more practice with the rest of Easy's medics today."

" Right, ok, well, enjoy your coffee." Catherine said as the blonde medic retreated out of the door. Catherine watched her disappear and watched where she had gone curiously. 

Was she okay? 


	50. eindhoven

" In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit."

_\- Anne Frank_

✰✰✰

A few days after the announcement was made that they would be dropping into occupied Holland, the company was out on the tarmac as the bright morning sunlight beat down on them. Groups were huddled around, getting their gear on and chatting with each other, as the replacements finally got a taste of what jumping into perceived combat was like. 

Hazel sat near box, and was carefully shining up her rifle. It had passed inspection with flying colors, but Hazel had opted for an extra day of training, since it had been a month or two since they returned and she wanted target practice. Her hands quickly worked at the trigger, the weapon on safety, and cleaned each little area until it shined a glimmering color. Satisfied she stood as Catherine walked over to her.

" Excited?" Hazel asked her. Since it was in fact a daytime jump, people were hoping Catherine wouldn't fracture a shoulder again. 

" Yeah, I'd say I'm fairly excited for this." she said with a smile to the girl.

" You're ready, you've been ready to fight." Hazel said with a smile. 

" You hear about Jenkins?" Catherine asked Hazel who looked up at her.

" Yep," Hazel said as she stood and flipped her rifle over in her hands, " I mean, the replacements were a bit judgmental, but I wouldn't fight them." Catherine smirked.

" I guess someone is still growing up and doesn't know how to properly play with his toys." Catherine said and Hazel snickered. 

All the sudden a horn honked and Hazel and Catherine looked over. Hazel stepped forward, eyes narrowed as if she were in her zone when shooting her sniper. Her eyes trained on the man she had thought would never dare show his face. Herbert Sobel rode in the front part of the jeep that was driven by a driver. Popeye was in the back, standing up. But everyone's eyes were on Sobel. Hazel watched with a fast heart beat as Sobel's car drove past. He maintained eye contact with her as if surprised she were alive.

" That's right, I'm alive." she muttered, as she hoisted her sniper up in front of her a bit, to show off its shine. Sobel turned away. 

" What the fuck?" Catherine whispered as she continued watching Sobel. It seems no one could believe it. 

Lizzie with help from Malarkey, was suiting up but they both stopped when Sobel appeared in a jeep.

" Don." Lizzie said, tapping him. Malarkey stepped past her as the two looked forward towards Sobel. The jeep stopped and Sobel jumped out quickly moving around the truck to the other side. Bill walked up to Catherine and then glanced over at Sobel.

" The fuck's he here for?" Bill asked her.

" I don't even wanna know." Catherine said eyes narrowed. " Probably thought we were all dead." 

" Probably." Bill muttered. Catherine grumbled to herself as she passed the cigarette to Bill.

" Word has it he's the newly appointed regimental S-4." Catherine said and Bill's eyes narrowed.

" Let me get this straight, regimental?" he asked.

" You heard me." Catherine said with a sigh looking towards Sobel again. 

" But he's a supply officer?" Bill asked and Catherine sighed shaking her head.

" If you call it that." Catherine said, " Didn't think he'd be down around here." 

" Hey, Mal, Lizzie." More said as he walked past Skip, Malarkey and Lizzie standing together. Lizzie raised a brow.

" Over there." More said and the trio turned to the truck. 

" Jesus." muttered Lizzie her eyes trained on the motorcycle that the three had joyride together in Aldbourne. And so the lovely motorcycle reappeared.

" Sonofabitch." Malarkey muttered next to her as Skip forced a smile to his face. Suddenly, that caught wind of Sobel's ear who was standing close by. Malarkey and Lizzie were silent, staring at the motorcycle before suddenly Sobel appeared. 

" Malarkey, Elliot." Sobel called as he walked up. Lizzie noticed as Skip made a quick disappearance, running off to find Catherine. The two saluted, begrudgingly side by side.

" Sergeant Malarkey." Sobel said, " Doc Elliot." Sobel saluted them and they dropped it.

" Sir?" the two asked. Sobel glanced back at the motorcycle and Lizzie felt her blood boil a bit.

" You thought you could get away with it?" Sobel asked the two. 

" What do you mean, sir?" Malarkey asked him, cluelessly as Lizzie bit her lip. Sobel glanced at the others and then at the two and then at Malarkey.

" Sergeant, that motorcycle is United States Army property. That may not mean anything to you, but it means something to me." Sobel said.

" Where'd you find it?" Sobel asked. Lizzie muttered a curse to herself as Sobel's onslaught came. Catherine glanced over at the two and let out a low whistle.

" Jesus Christ, this guy, we aren't even his company anymore." Catherine said as Martin grumbled.

" Tell that to him." Martin said and Catherine glared towards Sobel again. Sobel had returned but only for a moment. 

The plane ride was smooth, unlike the early hours of D-Day. It was bright outside, and you could smell the salty ocean and then the fresh fields below them as they reached Holland. The jump was an easy one at that. The clouds were bright and white, the sky was blue and filled with paratroopers who were hit by no enemy as they landed this time. Hazel hit the ground, this time surrounded by paratroopers, and quickly rolled over, unclipping the parachute from her body and losing her reserves, doing so in record time. She ran through other paratroopers making it to the ground and eventually saw a replacement struggling. She quickly dropped to her knees next to him and popped the parachute off and pulled his helmet off before lifting the reserves off.

" Sorry, ma'am." he said.

" Don't worry about it, get moving." she said before standing and taking off again following the general flow of where soldiers were running. Hazel quickly made use of the sniper in her hands and used it as a way to move her way through the ranks past the replacements hanging in the back. She worked her way up through the massive line of paratroopers to the front where Peacock was with Catherine as the two sat with maps. Catherine shook her head in annoyance. Hazel slid down right next to Bull and Catherine.

" Hey," she whispered as she slid in.

" Hey, Tiny," Bull said as he glanced toward his squad.

" Boys? Ladies." she heard a voice say and Hazel turned and watched David Webster push his way up to the front with his own Toccoa veteran status pushing him up there, after his switch from Fox Company.

" Whoo, made it." he called, slamming into the opposite side as planes flew overhead.

" I wonder if they hit anything." Hoobler stated looking to the sky. It was loud overhead, as their engines and propellers rumbled forward. 

" Goodbye air support." Webster stated and Hazel glanced back to where Catherine and Peacock were.

" There's some kind of holdup ahead." Peacock said as he came forward and couched in front of Hazel and Bull. " We're going in through this field here." Bull nodded and moved his squad to their feet. 

Hazel looked toward where 2nd platoon, 2nd squad was and took to her feet with Bill's command. Hazel climbed over the ledge and smiled when she saw Catherine moving her way through the field uninjured. She liked having the girl out in combat for once and not wounded. She fit right in with the group, taking everything in and being like a mother to trembling replacements, with her intelligent leadership skills. 

The grass in the field was tall, just a little below Hazel's height as she wadded through eyes trained on everything in front of her as she walked, watching as the town of what was presumably Eindhoven appear. The company came to a field, and Hazel watched as a window open in front of them and a woman appeared. The two replacements up front crouched and signaled for everyone to crouch down as well. 

Hazel glanced toward Lizzie who stayed next to Gene and the two conversed quietly with each other. Hazel watched as an orange flag suddenly appeared out of the window. Surprise filled her features as she watched her tie it off and look towards the soldiers. They weren't the enemy. They were celebrating that. 

Eindhoven became filled with people in the streets and orange flags everywhere. Singing ensued, people cheered and there was kissing and hugging every where especially for the soldiers. Hazel, removing her helmet, had a smile on her face as she saw men everywhere, from the company celebrating, there was finally a sense of freedom. Hazel continued moving through the crowd, when she came upon a group of kids, dancing together in a circle, holding hands and giggling and laughing. Hazel stopped to watch them a smile upon her face as she did so. She'd always loved kids. 

One of the kids ran up in front of her and smiled up at her before holding a daisy up towards her. Hazel felt herself burst with happiness as she took the daisy in her hand. The kid reached up towards her to be picked up. Hazel slowly bent down and lifted the kid up into her arms. 

The child's eyes were bright and joyful, devoid of the war that raged around him, as his toothy smile, where a few teeth were missing adorned his lips, and two dimples, similar to Hazel's, appeared on his cheeks. 

Neither could understand each other, but in that moment they were connected because there was no war where they were right now. 

There was just humanity and rejoice. 

The child spoke in his native language to her as he placed the daisy in his hand behind her ear before giggling at her. Hazel smiled at him before turning and catching someone's eyes. 

Liebgott's. 

She watched as a smile appeared on his face as he watched her, as the crowd celebrated around him. His eyes were on her. The child pointed to the Screaming Eagle patch. The child touched it again, eyes wide with wonder and mind filled with imagination. 

Oh to be a child again with that much innocence and wonder for the world, only to find the true horrors it possessed.

" Hazel." Hazel said to the child softly, as she sounded it to him.

" Hazil?" the child tried and Hazel smiled.

" Close, Hazel." Hazel tried again. 

" Hazel!" the child said excitedly and Hazel smiled laughing.

" Yes, yes Hazel!" Hazel said as the child giggled and wrapped his arms around her neck, hugging her close. Hazel had never imagined how nice it was to hug a child, someone who would look at you and think you were the greatest thing ever, someone who wouldn't judge you when upset, someone who would love you for you. She relished the hug the child offered. 

Catherine was shoving through the crowd toward Winters and Nixon who she saw ahead of her. She jostled herself right into Nixon's side and she grumbled as she readjusted herself. She watched as a woman came up and kissed Winters on the lips, as he flipped up his collar. 

Catherine raised a brow towards Winters who merely rolled his eyes. 

Catherine quickly adjusted herself as Nixon continually called out thank you to push the women who encased him in kisses and hugs, she smirked. Catherine saw Harry and Buck making their way over, as she flipped up her own collar, glancing towards the peaks, understanding why she needed to flip her collar.

" What's up, Welshy?" Buck asked as he neared, as Harry started fixing his own collar. 

" Snipers." Harry said as he glanced towards the peaks again. Catherine wish Hazel were here right now, so that she could be set up somewhere to take them out if there do happen to be snipers nearby.

" We've gotta get to these bridges." Winters said as Nixon flipped up his own collar. Catherine glanced around at the roofs of house.

" And quickly." Catherine said, as she readjusted the binoculars that hung from her neck, her Thompson smacking on her shoulder, " The faster we move, the faster those bridges get overcompensated."

" Come on, Catherine." Nixon said as he tapped her on her shoulder, and she nodded. They had to find the Dutch Resistance Leader. 

Lizzie's eyes remained bright and cheery, accepting hugs from people, food, and love. It was a rapid change from back in Aldbourne and Normandy. The landing was easy, the attack was easy, it was easy, and slightly concerning, but Lizzie was too joy-filled to think another second on it. She was pulled into pictures and hugs and she was even surprised when little kids swarmed around her with chocolates and sweets. 

But as Lizzie pushed through the crowd, she felt herself freeze at the sudden sound of yells and cries. Her vision went to the crowd and through the slew of people she could see the women being forced to the ground, their hair and clothes being stripped from their body, the symbol of Nazi Germany being drawn on their foreheads in black ink. Her heart rate began picking up as she watched them, women being pulled through the crowd and yanked to the center of the circle and publicly humiliated in front of them all. 

They were women, just women. 

What was going on? 

As Catherine and Nixon approached with John van Kooijk, she noticed the site that Winters, Buck and Harry were all watching. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach as her footsteps slowed ahead of Nixon and Kooijk. She appeared next to Winters and sucked in a breath as she watched the women crying out as their hair was cut and clothes stripped.

" What did they do?" Harry asked, as Catherine sucked in a breath to calm herself down. 

" They slept with the Germans." Catherine heard Kooijk say from behind her. Winters, Harry and Buck turned to him, but Catherine stayed still staring forward. Winters finally put a hand on her shoulder and she turned away. Winters gently squeezed her shoulder and she nodded before he dropped his hand away. 

" They are lucky." Kooijk said, as Catherine quirked a brow, staring at the ground.

" Lucky?" whispered Catherine, but Winters was the only one to glance at her. 

" The men who collaborated are being shot." Kooijk said.

" What if they didn't have a choice?" Catherine asked him. Winters looked back at the women and then to Catherine. Catherine just looked away from the group. 

" Mr. Van Kooijk here is with the Dutch Resistance." Nixon affirmed as Catherine forced herself to look away from the women getting their hair cut off and being violated. Catherine crossed her arms and pushed down the brim of her helmet as she glanced at Harry, biting her lip. He didn't look all too happy either. Mr. Van Kooijk stepped forward towards Winters, and grabbed his hand shaking it firmly.

" We have been waiting and hoping for this day. For almost 5 years." Mr. Van Kooijk said.

" Says he can help us secure the bridges here." Nixon affirmed as Winters, Nixon and Mr. Van Kooijk walked forward, the 3 Lieutenants following idly behind.

" Yes! Together we can push the remaining Germans out of Eindhoven. And that's just the beginning." Catherine watched as Nixon, Winters and Van Kooijk all began talking but Catherine turned glancing over her shoulder again where the women were, crying out. Catherine couldn't shake the vivid image from her head, as she kept cautiously looking over her shoulder. 

" Hey, " Buck said, stepping up to her side and placing a hand on her shoulder gently.

" What if those women had no choice, Buck?" Catherine whispered softly, feeling somewhat sick to her stomach. Buck watched her, his entire being seemingly debating it all. Catherine was a woman, a proud one at that, and watching what was happening to those women hurt her because all she could imagine was that they didn't have a choice of sleeping with those Germans. Buck watched her. 

" Hey, look." Harry said stepping forward as Catherine looked up, watching the British tanks slowly rolling down the streets of Eindhoven. Catherine watched with soft eyes as the people of Eindhoven continued cheering and continued calling out excitedly. Catherine searched around quickly and found Winters' eyes. He wanted to get to those bridges just as bad as Catherine had wanted to. Catherine slowly pushed towards Winters and caught his arm.

" We need to get to those bridges." Catherine said quickly and Winters met her eyes again. 

" Start moving the men to the Northeast, it's where one of the main bridges that needs to be captured is. Once you start heading out, Easy will be in the lead." Winters told her. Catherine nodded. Catherine then turned and moved over to Harry and Buck.

" Orders are to start heading Northeast, where a main bridge should be that needs to captured. Start moving your men." Catherine confirmed.

" Hallelujah." Harry said and then cupped his hands around his mouth, " Easy we're moving!" Catherine took the opportunity to pull the binoculars that were hung around her neck up to her eyes and look out towards the oncoming tanks, watching for snipers up in the peaks of different pits and eves of the homes. Her eyes searched maliciously almost, like a hunger and thirst for war, something she was deprived of when she had sustained the campaign ending injury. She wanted war, and she feared if she wanted it anymore, she'd slowly become it. Hazel remembered seeing Catherine pushing her way through the crowd as Hazel placed another small child to the ground.

" Hey, Cath, you good?" Hazel asked as the woman came up to her, stature rigid.

" We're moving Northeast, orders from the CO." Catherine said quickly as Hazel nodded. Hazel slowly reached for her helmet and carefully adjusted it to her head before glancing around. Hazel shouldered her weapon and moved through the crowd providing small, gentle smiles, as she pushed Northeast. 

But what stopped Hazel in her path was the screaming and the cries she heard. Hazel slowly reached up to push the big helmet up from her eyes and look towards the source. Her eyes widened as she saw a small opening ahead of her. As Hazel neared it, she jumped back in horror. Women were pressed to their knees, their clothing being stripped from them, Nazi swastikas being painted in black on their forehead, as their hair was cut messily from their heads in a frantic fashion. Hazel slowly backed up, her feet forcing her backwards, as she stumbled over her feet, she couldn't even watch anymore. What was going on? She felt someone catch her arm and looked up to see it was Bull, who had a serious expression painted across her features.

" What's going on?" Hazel asked quickly, her voice barely a normal breath of air. 

" I don't know," Bull told her, " let's just get moving." Hazel nodded, letting Bull guide her away, her mind in shambles, her thoughts with the women. Hazel was quiet that night, she had seen what the men were doing to the women, back in Eindhoven. She didn't know what was going on or why it had happened, all Hazel knew was that it upset her greatly. Hazel stared at the stars, she always did that and now was doing it a lot more. She hoped her mother, on the other side of the world, was staring at the same stars. They had captured a set of bridges, but Hazel felt she was in a fog the entire time, barely registering that she had shot her weapon quite a few times. It never came to mind that she had done so.

" Hey," Hazel heard Lieb say as he lied down next to her in the hay and looked up at the stars with her. 

" Hi, Lieb." she said softly, her gaze on the stars, " Come to stargaze?"

" Of course." he answered as he got comfortable and the two stared in silence towards the ever-changing sky. The quiet chatter of the men filled the night, as a few laughs rose up every so often from the depths of the group. 

Hazel was glad that sometimes her and Lieb didn't need to talk; they could just lie side by side and enjoy the silence and the stars and find peace. 


	51. neunen

" There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

_\- Edith Wharton_

✰✰✰

When Hazel sat up the following morning, she blinked her eyes awake and found that she was staring at a blue sky, a soft blue, and there were the biggest fluffiest clouds overhead, and there was a slight, warm breeze that seemed to brush across the open soldiers in the field where a few large trees were. Hazel slowly sat up from the ground and looked around through squinted eyes as she saw some of the NCOs moving around, trying to get some people up and awake. 

Hazel glanced over and noticed Joe still asleep at her side, soft snores coming from his mouth. His back was to her, and his snores were loud.

" Joe." she said. He barely even shifted at the sound of his name. 

" Hey, Joe." Hazel said. Hazel watched as he didn't move, instead letting out another snore. Hazel gently shook his shoulder.

" Joe, wake up." Hazel said, shaking his shoulder again. 

" What?" his gruff voice asked, sounding exhausted and wanting nothing more than to fall asleep again.

" I think we're moving again." Hazel said softly and she watched as Joe shifted on his side a bit and then slowly sat up, groaning, rubbing his head, running a hand through his hair and then yawning. 

" Hey sleepy heads." a voice said and Joe and Hazel looked up to see Catherine crouching down in front of them, her helmet strap swinging a bit in the breeze, a smirk on her features, and a wild look in her eyes. She was ready for war it looked like.

" What time is it?" Hazel asked her. Catherine glanced at her watch.

" About 0800, they want us moving though, they just briefed the Lieutenants not too long ago." Catherine said, eyeing Joe yawning again and lying down again rubbing his eyes.

" How long have you been awake?" muttered Joe.

" Longer than you clearly." Catherine said, glancing around and then smiling at Hazel, " I'd heat up a K-ration real quick because it looks like we'll be on the move within the hour, we're heading towards Arnhem."

" Where the fuck is that?" groaned Joe.

" Are you always this grumpy?" Catherine asked him and Joe shot her a glare.

" No." he groaned. Catherine smirked.

" Seems the only person you never are grumpy around is Hazel." Catherine said with a playful smirk watching as Hazel blushed furiously and Joe glared. Hazel looked to Catherine again.

" You doing ok?" Hazel asked Catherine with a small smile.

" Yeah," Catherine said glancing around the sky, " just thinking about what sorta opposition we might run into." 

" Hopefully not a lot, you did say there were just old men and kids here." Hazel said with a slight smirk as she brushed hair from her face as it blew lightly in the wind. Catherine smirked.

" Let's hope that's the case." Catherine said as she slowly stood, " Wish me luck. I have to wake up George, snoring like a foghorn." 

" Yeah have fun with that." Hazel said and Catherine smirked.

" I'll see you two." she called before moving down towards where George would be sleeping. Hazel smiled softly to herself before glancing at Joe who looked like he was falling asleep again.

" Hey," Hazel said, softly shoving his shoulder watching as he closed his eyes again, " don't close those eyes again."

" I'm exhausted." he complained. Hazel smirked as she pulled out a K-ration and peeled it open.

" Aren't we all?" she muttered as Joe sighed as he sat up. 

She was right. They all were. And it was only the start. 

Catherine moved through the groups of men spread around everywhere, back towards HQ as the sun slowly began its rise higher into the sky. Catherine approached the tent that had been set up for the night, and pushed back the flap to step inside and give it a look around seeing a group of officers surrounding the nearby table. She saw Winters and Nixon, she saw Harry as well as Buck and she noticed Speirs from Dog along with his CO and then Fox's Co and a few Lieutenants. Strayer stood, pointing at different points on the map, going over locations his voice muffled by all the men standing around him.

" Ah, Lieutenant McCown didn't expect to see you back so soon." Strayer stood once he noticed her walking over towards the table as the officers turned to look at her. She gave a smile as she removed her helmet, shifting her shoulder a bit.

" The men were up quicker than I thought, sir, figured I had time to come back." she said as she moved to stand next to Winters.

" Good, good," Strayer said, clearing his throat to begin again. 

" So now, as I've explained, Nuenen is the town we're moving through today, we're expecting that there's Krauts in there, alright, a bit of resistance, but not much. As we've talked about there's only supposed to be old men and kids here, so we suspect an easy fight, understood?" Strayer said. A chorus of yes, sir's followed.

" Lieutenant McCown, you've done a few presentations on the land, care to give some insight?" Strayer asked her. Boy did Strayer just turn to her for anything at this point. Catherine smiled.

" Of course, sir," she said, " Holland. Located in the Western Upland sits on the jagged cliffs, sorta like the ones Northern France and Normandy provided. Fun fact, they were cut out by glaciers, just like the mountains that run through all of Europe. It's considered an ancient landscape from times during Augustus' rein of Rome, for example. The land's hilly, forests are dense and there's no real large landscape except the ocean that borders the country and the flat landscape. There shouldn't be any large incline in any area, sir." Strayer nodded and then looked to the men." Thank you, Lieutenant." Strayer said and Catherine smiled softly with a nod.

" Now, if you remember what Lieutenant McCown said, it's a fairly flat landscape so we should be able to move through pretty quickly, get these tanks over the Rhine through Arnhem and get this thing done by Christmas." Strayer said, " That understood?"

" Yes, sir." the chorused response came in answer to him.

" Good, get back to your men and women, and we'll start the load up on the tanks and push Northeast." Strayer concluded before he dismissed them. Catherine turned and followed after Easy's officers and their CO. 

" War done by Christmas, count me in." Harry muttered as he clipped his helmet strap together. Catherine smirked.

" You said it, Harry." Catherine said smirking and clipping in her helmet, " This lands flat as hell, we'll move through quickly, we have to." Harry grinned. 

" Alright," Winters said checking his watch, " its 0900, we're moving at 0930, so I'd start prepping the men and women, let them know we're moving. The tanks pulled through late last night so we can move with them."

" You think this war's gonna be over by Christmas?" Buck asked as he adjusted his helmet. Winters glanced at him with a small smile.

" We'll see," Winters said, " we have yet to make it to Arnhem and we have to get through Nuenen."

" He's saying it's up in the air if that's what you're asking Buck." Nixon said as he adjusting his map, " Could be good or bad, we just gotta see."

" Yeah well, they thought _Refer Madness_ was gonna be best film of the year, and you never saw something flop harder." Catherine said as a few snickers ensued.

" Okay but that was bad." Harry said snickering.

" I act better than that even when I'm drunk." Nixon said.

" Oh we know." Buck said and the group laughed again as Catherine glanced towards Winters who smirked, shaking his head a bit. 

" So what are you saying, Mack, you think we're really gonna get through this and it'll turn out worse in the end?" Buck asked her. Catherine smirked at him.

" Europe's crawling with Nazis, I won't be at all surprised if we find a group of SS members." Catherine said.

" How long you've been conjuring up that one, McCown?" Nixon asked her.

" Long enough," Catherine said with a smirk, " who's come to Europe in the past 5 years, and in all their time never ran into a single Nazi, let's be real."

" Well, technically if you're in Switzerland-"

" They're neutral Harry, not completely broken off from this war though." Nixon said and Catherine snickered.

" This is what I get for trying to talk with a bunch of Ivy League nerds, right?" Harry said grumbling as he looked at Winters, as if waiting for an answer from the man.

" You get used to it after a while." commented Winters as he adjusted his ODs a bit more.

" Get used to it?" Buck said, snickering, " I'm numb to it." Catherine laughed. The officers moved out to the field of men and women and began moving them towards the large Shermans tanks that had plowed through the bridges that left Eindhoven. Hazel slowly approached the tank, admiring it's rather massive beauty that composed it, before allowing Bill to help her up the side of the tank.

" Thanks, Bill." she said as she slowly settled in beside him, her hand burning a bit from the hot metal of the tank they sat atop of. Bill gave her that signature smile, the one where his eyes twinkled a bit more than normal.

" Sleep well?" he asked her. She smiled softly.

" Yeah, it's quite lovely having his snoring in your ear." Hazel said nodding to Liebgott who slowly climbed up onto the tank and took a seat lower than her.

" You chose to sleep beside me." Liebgott said back with a playful smirk and she shoved his foot at her knee and he swatted her leg.

" Children." muttered Joe Toye as he climbed on next. Hazel kicked out again at Liebgott.

" Hey, children, focus please. If I can't have coffee, please allow me to wake easily." he said passing by them.

" Don't worry, Joe, just watching these two go at it is enough endorphin to wake you up." Bill called back to him.

" No it ain't." Toye called back sitting up near the top. Bill cackled to himself. The ride Hazel felt was fairly smooth; she enjoyed the breeze that blew from in front of them as the tanks slowly rolled forward, and she enjoyed the chatter of conversations that swung around the top of the tank where part of 2nd platoon sat. 

" Next time Babe, next time I see that dart board, we're winning, alright? We're not letting George Luz egg us one anymore." Hazel heard Toye say to Babe as 1200 rolled closer.

" You sure about that?" Babe asked him.

" Hell yeah, I mean we know now that Buck's right handed and gets it perfect every time, I mean, we just gotta practice." Toye said.

" Yeah and there's just dart boards everywhere out here." Babe muttered. 

" You taking lip from him, Joe?" Bill asked looking at him.

" Not from him, I'm not, maybe from you though." Toye muttered. Hazel smirked.

" Hey Hazel, you play don't ya?" Babe asked turning to her.

" Yeah, I do, I guess." she said.

" We've already clarified Babe, she's already on our team." Toye told him.

" Right." Babe said and then offered a smile. 

" You really think you're gonna outsmart George?" Bill asked the pair.

" What? And you think you can?" Toye asked him.

" Nah, Joe, that's not what I'm saying, you ain't listening. I'm talking about you two." Bill said.

" Momma always said you can try until you can't no more," Babe said. 

" Hey, you sound like Tiny over here, with those philosophical verbs." Bill stated.

" Proverbs." called Liebgott from where he was currently asleep next to Hazel's legs, curled up and near snoring. 

" Right, right, proverbs." Bill said with a nod.

" I am the one who says you can always try, I guess." Hazel said and the trio smiled. 

" It's settled then, the next time I face that stupid fucking dartboard we're winning okay, you two?" Joe Toye said meeting both their eyes as if prepared for battle, which he sorta was.

" I admire your confidence Joe, but I wouldn't be boosting that ego much more." Bill said.

" Like yours hasn't already been kicked into high gear." muttered Joe and Bill just chuckled to himself.

" Shut it Joe." Bill said and the group laughed. Lizzie laid back against the tank, beside George Luz who was currently sunning himself, like the ladies Lizzie would always see at the Grand Rapids community pool. The ones who gave her the best candies as a kid. The sun was bright and it was fairly warm outside, but there was no humidity which was nice, compared to the entire campaign of Normandy. 

" Oh man you know what? I hate eggs!" Bull said glancing at his K-ration and looking to Hoobler. Lizzie sat up a bit to glance at the two. K-ration talk.

" Hey, Sarge, you can have this one." Van Klinken said handing Bull his own. 

" Vincent Van Gogh was born in Nuenen." Webster said, as Lizzie glanced towards him.

" Yeah? So what?" Cobb said as Webster smiled with glee. Lizzie smirked a bit. 

" Sure teach a lot of useful stuff at Harvard." Hoobler said.

" You should talk to Lieutenant McCown more often, she can sight the entire periodic table." Cobb said. 

" Really?" Webster asked glancing back at Cobb.

" Yeah, the one time I can't tell the difference between two of the elements used in gunpowder and she starts reciting it. Never again." Cobb said and Lizzie laughed sitting up.

" I'm pretty sure she didn't recite the entire thing, but it was the more complicated route." Lizzie offered.

" What she said." Cobb muttered as George groaned sitting up, stretching his back.

" Oh man," George said, " tell me more. Attention: captured." Lizzie smirked.

" Not me, idiot, Catherine. She's the one in multiple chemistry courses." Lizzie said. 

" What's her major?" Webster asked.

" Okay, stop, we're not doing college talk now Mr. Harvard." George groaned, rubbing his tired eyes as Lizzie smirked before glancing out towards the fields. Her smirk slowly fell from her lips.

A person stood on the side of the road, standing out amongst the picturesque landscape. She held a tiny bundle in her arms, gently rocking it and shaking it, and her hair seemed haphazardly shaved from her head, little patches of dried blood in certain areas. Lizzie's heart plummeted deep into a nook in her chest as memories from yesterday came rushing back into her mind. Lizzie glanced towards Bull who was looking at her. Lizzie licked her lips as the tank slowly rolled closer. Everyone was looking at the person. 

As they neared, Lizzie noticed it was in fact a woman with a child in her arms. Lizzie automatically jumped from the tank, sliding down it until she hit the ground, her feet touching the rock swiftly.

" Lizzie!"

" Doc!" calls from a few tanks rang out as she walked forward towards the woman and the baby. Lizzie stopped in front of the woman, having to hold back any emotion she felt. The woman looked at her and then her baby. Lizzie felt anger rise up in her; this baby was most likely the product of this woman and some stupid Kraut who took advantage of her. Lizzie felt Mellet stop beside her for a brief moment to pass over a care package with food, but Lizzie quickly took it in her hands. Lizzie looked at the woman and slowly pressed it into her hands with a nod. It said it all. Lizzie looked at the child, and gently tucked in the blanket around the child, as the mother watched her.

" Danke." the woman whispered and Lizzie nodded. 

" Elizabeth!" came another call, and she knew she had to go. Lizzie immediately turned and walked away, fighting back the emotion she felt inside of her. The anger, the pain, the grief and the sympathy. Lizzie then slowly backed away and moved to walking beside the tank, the smirk that had once taken over her entire face now completely gone, and the joy that filled her heart moments ago, shattered into any icy pond that covered her heart. She didn't sleep last night, again, what a surprise, and she had a lot of time to really think about everything, which sucked even more because thinking and then overthinking was a downfall of hers. 

But when her and Gene did rounds at 0500, she acted tired in front of him, so he wouldn't question whether she had slept all night or not. She did not need to have him worrying for her, when he had a company to also worry about. Lizzie slowly walked beside the tank as it rolled forward, focusing on the way the cobblestone road they moved alone, had it's rocks shoved together, their sides seemingly to perfectly mesh together. She remembered Catherine saying that most of the roads in Europe were from the times of Ancient Rome. 

Their story still lived on. 

She wondered if Easy Company's would as well. 

They came upon Nuenen and Lizzie moved up the side of the first tank again as men moved into the trenches on the sides. She watched as their Lieutenant, Lieutenant Brewer, rather confidently walked forward ahead the rest of the tanks. She raised a brow rather skeptically at that. What was he doing? What if there were a sniper?

" Hey, get a load of General Patton." Hoobler said as Lizzie glanced up at him, pushing her helmet a bit up from her eyes. 

" What the hell's he doing?" Bull muttered out, leaning back to look at the site.

" Makes quite a target, don't he?" Hoobler said. Bull slowly moved down closer to the front of the tank, as the Lieutenant moved forward. 

" Lieutenant!" Bull yelled. The Lieutenant merely turned around as a single shot fired, knocking the Lieutenant to the ground.

" Sniper!" someone yelled. 

The battle had started. 


	52. retreating

" It's all about finding the clam in the chaos." 

_\- Donna Karan_

✰✰✰

" Sarge!" Miller yelled, as Lizzie smashed into the side of the tank as the shot had rung out, sliding down the side of the medal track, and peaking out towards where the Lieutenant now lay. She noticed the blood. She needed to be there. Chaos seemed to erupt everywhere suddenly. She watched to her horror as German tanks suddenly appeared on their side riding up and quickly. 

" Clear the track!" someone yelled as Webster landed right next to Lizzie. But Lizzie's focus was on the Lieutenant who was shot. As paratroopers jumped off the tanks, the tanks began moving backwards a bit as people rushed to the trenches on the sides. She watched as Webster pulled her down in the trench on the side as Bull ran forward towards the Lieutenant. The tank shot a blast forward, toward the enemy tank, shaking the Earth, but missing the Panzer. She watched as the other tank shot, aimed and blew up the tank this time. And then the men and women began firing. Lizzie peaked over the edge toward Bull and Brewer, her heart pounding wildly.

" Medic up front, medic up front!" Bull yelled. Lizzie watched as Oates shot forward, but she knew he would need assistance, so she ran up from the trenches forward, away from the safety of 1st platoon.

" Lizzie!" a few voices called out to her, but she ran forward and collapsed beside Brewer, as Oates landed on her other side, seemingly protecting her from any shot that wold come her way. 

" Go!" she yelled to Bull. Bull nodded, patting their backs before hurrying away to the Company. Lizzie looked to Oates.

" We gotta move to some sort of cover!" she yelled as she pulled a bandage from her pocket to hold in place before they got to cover.

" There's some sort of deep trench ahead!" Oates called to her, as he gently checked Brewer's pulse.

" We'll have to- _AGH_!" Oates' body fell into her side and her bloodied hands from Brewer reached out to hold him up. He was shot in the leg and in pain.

" Shit." muttered Lizzie, quickly glancing around. No other medics were in sight. Lizzie sucked in a breath and carefully orchestrated herself in front of the two so if there was another shot, she'd be shot. She looked to Oates.

" Oates! " she yelled throwing him a bandage.

" Lizzie, I'm fine." Oates called to her, chucking the bandage back.

" Like hell you are," she said and threw the bandage back at him, hitting him square in the chest.

" I'll take care of you, just patch that up!" she yelled, before looking at Brewer. She ripped out some sulfa and poured it on the most urgent wound, his neck wound. Another shot whizzed past her and she turned angrily, about to burst, before turning back around and gently removing Brewer's helmet from his head to place on her back if a shot came her way. She looked over and watched as German's ran from the inflamed tanks, fleeing and crying out. She watched though as members from the upcoming 3rd platoon took them out, shot after shot, and she sighed in relief. 

Tab was there, giving her a hopeful thumbs up and she nodded. Another medic came racing up to her, it was Mampre. He landed by her side, looking at Oates who worked on controlling his leg, groaning in pain.

" Help him!" called Lizzie nodding to Oates. Mampre watched Brewer gurgle out blood.

" Lizzie-"

" He'll be fine, please, Al, work on O." Lizzie said with pleading eyes as she pulled Brewer's bandage tighter. Mampre nodded to her and then focused on Oates.

" Shit." she muttered again before plunging morphine into Brewer's body. Winters had run up to 

Hazel quickly when that first sniper round shot off and told her orders to take him out. She sat, alone, on the opposite ridge, close by to where Lizzie and Mampre were working on Oates and Brewer, in her protective gear and face paint. Her sniper was set on a bit of an odd angle, but she didn't really mind. She could see a clear shot of the sniper through her gaze, as she reached up to increase her magnification on the sight. He sat within the caved in roof of a far off, rather obscure barn that was faced towards the Southeast. She squinted her eye tighter and looked at the barrel of his gun through her own weapon. He was watching her and could clearly see her. She went to a deeper magnification and adjusted herself a bit as she watched the sniper take a shot and miss again. She shuffled her feet a bit, getting herself set straight and comfortable before she gently let her finger move near the trigger. She sucked in a breath, and steadied herself before catching her eyes right on his shiny sniper.

" Be with me Lord, through war and sin, guide me and guard me, to light." Hazel whispered, her finger tapping lightly on the trigger. Hazel then took the shot, and watched through her scope as the sniper fell back and there was even a blood squirt. Satisfied, she looked once more through the scope, aiming it again and taking one last shot at the still visible body to satisfy herself that he was dead. When he didn't move after a few minutes, she stood and raced past Lizzie.

" Sniper's taken out! You're all clear!" she yelled to her and Lizzie threw up a bloody thumbs up. Hazel looked toward intelligence, and prayed they saw her thumbs up on the dead sniper. Hazel then turned, as she watched the rest of the company race forward, and attempt to find a good place to set up to snipe. 

Catherine was moving through with the mass of 2nd platoon assisting Bill with leading the platoon. Being attached to different platoons each day had it's perks. She got to work with Harry yesterday, as well as Bull, when the moved towards the bridges. And plus she got to be rotated through the men and see everyone, while still being technically attached to Battalion. Others days it could be a shit show, like when they did training in late August on 3 and 4 day trips and the platoons seemed a reck. But what else virtually was new. Bill moved the platoon against a brick wall, and nodded to Catherine, who stood near the front of the platoon, as he hurried over to her.

" First real rush." he told her, and she smirked with a wink. 

" Here's the plan, take first squad around and 2nd will go over, I'll take 3rd around the other side. We'll met up on the other side. Sound good?" she asked him. Her and Bill had discussed working together plenty of times as she transitioned into her work with 2nd platoon where she had come from. Orders went from her to Bill mostly.

" Yes, ma'am." Bill said with a tip of his helmet. 

" 1st squad on me!" she called, as the men in 1st followed her around the side of the brick wall.

2nd and 3rd squad moved through the vacant grave yard, as Catherine led 1st squad around it to met up with Bill again on the other side. Catherine glanced to her left at the burning tank, before stepping to the side and moving the men forward, with a nod as she brought up the rear. She was the last to slam into the side of the building before moving up past the men to Bill's side. As she approached him, he whistled and held up the hold sign. Catherine glanced over and watched as Buck led in the mortar squad's right in a little courtyard, and he noticed her and Bill and nodded to them. The tanks were slowly making their entrance into the town, a fairly slow on at that as Bill glanced over Mellet's shoulder again. 

" We're moving," Bill said and she nodded as she nodded to 1st squad at the end. Bill moved the platoon around the corner and she nodded to him as she brought up the rear. Then all the sudden, a loud, ear-piercing shot rounded off from a Panzer by the sounds of it. Catherine watched smoke billow up nearby.

" Shit." she muttered as she ran up to Bill's side who had clearly seen it too. Another shot erupted and Catherine watched as a building exploded over near 1st. 

" What the hell is going on?" she muttered a she looked at Bill who was looking over at it. A machine gunner opened up from the top of a building, as all hell broke loose. Catherine turned her head and watched as Kraut's flooded toward them. Bill was looking more towards the machine gunner in the building nearby. He turned to Catherine.

" Get me Grant!" he yelled, as she nodded and took off down the ranks, spotting Grant with his bazooka. Suddenly yells to fall back erupted as her and Chuck finally made it up to Bill again, and Catherine's heart hammered in her chest. 

" Fuck." she whispered. Lizzie and Gene were moving through together to get the injured or nearly dead. Gene ran forward, but pressed back as an explosion ripped past the two of them. He turned to Lizzie and nodded as the two ran forward again and slammed against the wall near Peacock and a few people from first platoon. She gritted her teeth as her uniform hit against the brick wall.

" Who's hurt?" Gene asked quickly. 

" Van Klinken." Hoobler said sounding winded himself. Gene glanced at her and then to Hoobler.

" Other side of that hedge." Hoobler said.

" Uh-huh." he said before the two medics jumped up, crouched and shuffled past the group. 

" Oh, shit!" Hoobler yelled, before he followed the two. In that time, Bill and Catherine had set up Chuck with the bazooka to take out a machine gunner in the nearby window.

" Okay, ready." Chuck said, and nodded before, popping out from the side of the building and shooting the shot right at the window. It blew up the second it made contact and glass shattered everywhere, as debris shot out the sides. Chuck hopped back in to the little grove of the outside of the house and nodded. Suddenly an explosion shot through the window above them, and debris shot out over top of them. 

" Fall back, fall back! Fall back!" Catherine yelled as she began shoving men out of the way and towards where they came from.

" Lieutenant!" Bill yelled to Catherine as she turned to him again.

" We have to move the men a different way than we came!" he called to her, and she turned and hurried up to the group of 1st squad. As Lizzie gave one final heave up to Gene to help get Van Klinken over she dropped back onto her back, to the ground as bullets flew above her.

" Gene!" Lizzie yelled, " I can't get through, I'll have to meet you around!" 

" No, Lizzie, just pull through!" Gene yelled back. The bullets were fast and furious and quick. She wouldn't make it through there.

" I won't make it, I'll see you in a minute!" Lizzie yelled to him and then flipped onto her stomach, forcing herself to crawl forward down the dug out side trenches, pushing farther away from where the rest of Easy Company was slowly retreating from. 

As Lizzie crawled forward, bullets flew above her, shooting into the hedgerow in an attempt to fire at the men on the other side. She needed to create a distraction, something, anything so they would stop shooting at the guys. Lizzie cursed softly to herself, and quickly pushed herself up to her feet and started sprinting through the trench, her head bobbing up and down as she did so, bullets flying behind her. 

Lizzie watched the trench slowly coming to an end next to her and sucked in a breath as she grabbed the higher side, up on the road, and pulled herself up quickly, as if she were an ape flying through trees, and onto the road, sprinting down the cobblestone, her boots slamming down upon it. She saw a dip in the land; another start of a trench. 

Lizzie quickly, zeroed in on it, and clutched her medic bag close to her and continued moving forward, faster and faster towards it. But then she tripped, and her body slammed onto the rocky, pebble filled ground and the air was knocked for her lungs and she choked for a second on nothing, gasping for breath. 

A sizzling sound shot into her leg and she let out a groan, as she forced herself to pull forward, further and further until she reached the trench and rightfully rolled down into it and landed into a heaping pile of utter pain. Lizzie lay as explosions and gunfire rang out above her, clutching her leg, where a numbness started to overwhelm her. 

Lizzie forced herself to sit up and she let out a cry of anguish into the air. Her head was heavy and she felt she was spinning on an axis, watching the world not even bother to slow down for a moment. She watched through tear filled eyes as the wound filled with blood and slowly poured onto her ODs. Lizzie bit her lip, pushing her head up and back against the dirt, squeezing her eyes shut, praying the pain would disappear, that maybe this was all a dream. 

Lizzie grabbed her leg, and positioned it straight, breathing heavily as she moved her hand near the bullet wound. She had to get the bullet out and then pour sulfa on it. She had to do this quickly. Lizzie pulled a tourniquet first around her leg and then placed her fingers over the wound. Lizzie let out a shaky breath before plunging her fingers into the wound and letting out a scream. It was so overwhelming, the pain that sent her brain into a frenzy, like a crazed facade. 

Lizzie pushed further and let out another scream as black dots moved across her vision quickly. She was practically close to passing out by this point, as she felt light headed and barely awake. Then she hit it, the bullet. Lizzie let out another cry between a yell and strangled cry and yanked the bullet out, as the blood continued flowing. Lizzie didn't have the energy to chuck away the bloody bullet, as she struggled to even pull out a packet of sulfa. 

Lizzie fumbled a bit, but then grabbed the sulfa and tour it open with a groan with her teeth and poured it on the wound as tears flowed, burying her vision. As she poured the sulfa on, her mind went to morphine almost immediately. 

But she didn't want to use that on her; that was for the men, not her. 

Lizzie, reaching into her bag for a bandage and was slow in simply dressing and wrapping the wound. She feared infection, as well as amputation if she didn't get moving. Lizzie let out a groan as she tried to move, her leg giving as she did so. 

Lizzie flipped onto her stomach, the bullet wound throbbing, as she let out a cry, forcing herself to pull her body forward along the scratchy grass, dragging her bag and leg behind her as she did so. She pulled again forward, but she felt light-headed and dizzy and unable to comprehend her surroundings. She tried to give one final pull, but before she knew it, her head fell into the muddy grass and she passed out in the middle of a destroyed city in Holland. 

Catherine moved first squad through a clothing line of laundry and regretted it after a man fell from a shot. She narrowly avoided running straight into a brick wall, and managed to swiftly clear over it, jumping up and quickly flipping back and taking out a few Krauts in the process as they dropped to the ground. Her first shots really in battle and they were in a full retreat. Successful. Catherine grunted to herself before jumping back up and over the brick wall.

" Go! C'mon! You gotta move faster!" she yelled, the veins in her neck popping out, as the yells came from deep in her chest. Catherine crouched making sure each men afterwards made it through. She watched the Krauts coming closer with each antagonizing step. She then glanced over and noticed a radio and a man and a voice. 

It was George Luz. 

Chuck slammed in next to him as Bill then shuffled in. 

" Fall back!" was the only thing Catherine was able to yell before a shot hit too close to home and she was sent sprinting from her crouched position. She turned and watched as Bill shoved Chuck after her and then Luz and then himself. And explosion ripped out behind them and Catherine glanced over her shoulder as Luz and Bill just barely missed it, debris shooting out everywhere. 

As she ran another explosion ripped out on the left side, as wood and nails and rock shot out, slamming her roughly to the ground. The air pushed roughly from her lungs as she made impact with the ground. She let out a wonderful string of curses as Bill hurriedly pulled her up to her feet again and kept her running, The Sergeant and Lieutenant pushing through the onslaught of gunfire behind them. Explosions continued to rattle the buildings and the houses as she felt her heart rate rapidly pick up and her fear ramp up as well. The only thing she could think was that this wasn't supposed to happen. Bill stopped Catherine suddenly as Luz ran past.

" What the f-" Bill cut her off as she followed his hand pointing. She turned and watched as Malarkey and Skip slammed in a door. 

" What the hell are you doing?" Bill asked as they racing up to the two.

" Help us!" Malarkey yelled, as Catherine without hesitation ran forward to provide what aid she could. The 4 slowly pushed the door out of the home and dragged it.

" What the hell do you need this for?" Catherine yelled as a bullet whizzed past.

" Buck was hit!" Skip yelled, and it was true as Gene lay tying up Buck's butt with a bandage. The 5 situated Buck onto the door.

" Go Gene!" Catherine yelled to him, watching as the medic hurriedly followed the Lieutenant's orders and moved. The 4 eventually began hauling Buck on the door towards the tanks. Random explosions from rifle grenades went off above them as the trucks waited their arrival. 

Hazel was already up on the tanks with a nasty looking wound in her arm, Gene seemingly already getting to work on it, as she grimaced in pain. She hadn't gotten the sniping done like she had wanted, as she had awaited her movement progression forward but suddenly saw Joe Toye come racing back, high tailing it and knew something had gone horribly wrong. And then a grenade shell went off from a nearby German who had thrown it and lodged a bit into her arm before she yanked it out. But there was a nice blood trail that followed her trail back towards where Easy's trucks awaited. 

They had definitely not been mostly old men and kids. 

And now the looks of a war over by Christmas was out of the question. 

Catherine and Bill helped deliver Buck up onto a truck, loading the door and his aching body up to where Gene would then move to work on him. Catherine looked around for Lizzie, the tiny medic, who wore a bright smile, and offered a helping hand. She was nowhere in sight. Catherine then saw Bill approaching her with Lip.

" Do you know where Bull is?" Lip asked her as she approached drenched in sweat.

" No, I was with Bill." she said quietly, glancing towards Nuenen, " What's wrong?"

" He's missing." Lip said, and Catherine's heart dropped as she glanced towards Bill. 

" What about Lizzie? I can't find her." Catherine said as her heart started racing. Lip's eyes widened.

" Lizzie's not here?" he asked her. Catherine frantically shook her head. 

" Take her to a truck, Bill." Lip said as Winters brushed past the two, and Lip followed.

" No! No, Lip! We have to find her!" Catherine yelled as Bill wrapped an arm over and shoulder and guided her away. Catherine stumbled over her feet, clutching onto Bill, with tears in her eyes. 

Not Lizzie. 

Catherine slowly pulled herself up onto a truck sliding in next to Johnny, her heart racing, tears threatening her vision. Lizzie and Bull. They weren't here. No one had seen them. Bill slid in beside Catherine, pulling his helmet from his head quickly and letting out a disgruntled sigh. Bill looked at Catherine, who seemed to be shaking the slightest bit. The jokes she had cracked this morning had all but disappeared and she was quiet, eyes glazed over, staring forward, horror seemingly painted as the permanent expression. 

Bill gently wrapped an arm over Catherine's shoulder and he was surprised to see that she flinched the slightest bit, sparing a glance over towards Bill. But she gently settled into his gently arm that wrapped around her. She gently reached up and placed her hand over his which lay on her shoulder. She let out a shaky sigh. But everyone seemed shaken up. Catherine looked at her left hand and watched as her fingers shook and trembled. 

Nuenen was up in flames and smoke as other explosions rattled off, the trucks leading the soldiers away. Catherine silently thanked Bill for his comforting arm over her shoulder as her thoughts went out to both Lizzie and Bull.

" Where's the Bull?" she heard Bill ask Martin, across her. 

" Don't know." Martin managed to say. Catherine shut her eyes and let out another shaky sigh, that seemed to shake her lungs up all at once. Martin looked traumatized and Catherine could only shut her eyes and try to forget about everything.


	53. the dawn of night

" But without the dark, we'd never see the stars." 

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

News spread quickly of how Bull and Lizzie were, in fact, missing, and how they were the only two missing. The company had retreated and been brought to a resting area not far at all from Nuenen to bed down in for the night. 

They were to dig foxholes, eat their K-rations, clean their weapons and prepare for tomorrow, and pray to God that somehow Bull and Lizzie showed up tonight or in the morning. Hazel, with Gene's help, had shakily jumped down from the truck to move over to where an aid station had been set up for the time being. She slowly sat down in a chair, as the sniper rifle clattered to the ground. She was in pain, as the fresh wound remained open to the cool night air. She'd be fine, a simple bandage could stop the bleeding, but it just burned a bit.

" Is it bad?" she managed to say through a grimace. Gene gently touched around where the wound was with his delicate fingers and gently pressed. She gritted her teeth in pain. 

" It'll heal up nice and good." Gene said, as he pulled a chair up in front of her to situate himself. He grabbed a wet cloth and gently wiped at the wound, until the dried blood around it came clean. Hazel visibly grimaced at the sight of it. Gene quirked a smile up at her before pulled out a tube of cream to help the wound repair itself. He gently dabbed it on, before pulling out a bandage and slowly beginning to wrap up her arm. He then gently secured it, before helping the girl pull her sleeve down to cover it up. 

" There ya go." he said, as he stood and pushed the stool back in place.

" Thank you," Hazel said as she stood, and reached down to pick up her sniper rifle.

" Any word on Lizzie or Bull?" Hazel asked him. Gene looked at her and sighed softly.

" They're missing, both of 'em." Gene said and Hazel's heart sank. She couldn't imagine what Catherine was going through right now, she worried about everyone. 

" I'll see ya Gene, we'll find them." Hazel said, squeezing his shoulder and Gene nodded softly. Hazel approached over the dike before moving down into the field. Her eyes looked around for a familiar face. She found Malarkey, Penkala and Skip all around their foxhole chattering and sharing bits of food when she arrived.

" Hey," Hazel said, " you guys seen Catherine?"

" Mack? Just saw her, she was doing rounds with Bill." Skip told her.

" Thanks." Hazel said.

" Lizzie and Bull still missing?" Malarkey called out to her. Hazel bit her lip and nodded. " Yeah."

" Damn." Malarkey muttered, as Skip sighed and Penkala only leaned back to shut his eyes. 

" What about you?" Malarkey asked, " Heard you got a chunk."

" Ah, it's nothing. Gene got it out." Hazel said with a grateful smile.

" Right, get some rest!" Skip called to her with a wave. Hazel continued through the foxholes and sent smiles to the men who called out to her before finding Catherine and Bill walking through doing rounds talking quietly to each other.

" Catherine," Hazel called as she approached. The two turned at the sound of Hazel's voice. 

" Hazel," Catherine said a smile on her face, " what's up?"

" Want me to start digging the foxhole?" Hazel asked. 

" Definitely. I'll be there in a second, we got a few more foxholes to check on." Catherine said. Hazel nodded and then turned and hurried over to an area for a foxhole. Hazel discarded of her weapon, helmet and pack and started digging with her shovel, as the ground became dewy and wet from the atmosphere. She started sweating a bit, even in the darkness of the night, and finally lugged the heavy shovel from the pit of dirt and placed it to the side before hopping up and sitting in the dirt that was freshly lifted up from the ground. She let out a sigh and then smiled suddenly. She leaned back against the dirt, lying against the cool ground and stared up at the stars. She smiled, letting a small chuckle past her lips. 

The stars were out. 

Catherine slowly removed her helmet, as she moved up the dike towards where she noticed Captain Winters had gone. Her knees ached as she moved up the hilly grass but once she came up on the top she saw why Winters had come up here. Eindhoven was engulfed in flames, captured in smoke and bright orange flames, caught in a tangle of heat. Catherine slowly walked forward, noticing Winters leaned up against the bed of one of the trucks. Catherine's footsteps were quiet as she approached Winters. She slowly stopped at his side and let her eyes take in what was happening in front of her.

" Bill and I finished rounds, sir." she said softly, her voice barely over that of a whisper. She glanced at Winters and watched him nod gently. 

" Still no sign of Bull and Lizzie?" Winters asked her before glancing down at the Lieutenant at his side. Catherine met his eyes and then bit her lip, unnaturally of her and glanced back towards the engulfed town, which currently sat, smoldering.

" No, sir." she said softly. Catherine glanced back up at Winters and then bit at her lip again.

" It looks like you want to ask me a question." Winters said and Catherine met his gaze again.

" Do you think they got captured?" Catherine asked him, fearing the complete absolute worst of the probable situation at hand. She saw something swim into Winter's eyes for a split second before it washed away. 

" No," Winters said, " those two, they're strong. They wouldn't let that happen." Catherine nodded softly watching him.

" Why?" Winters asked her, seeming genuinely concerned as to why that would pop up in her mind. 

" Just a conversation Hazel, Lizzie and I had back in Athene. I don't know, sir, it's stupid." Catherine said, " Good night."

" Wait, Catherine." Winters stopped her placing a hand on her shoulder and watching as she looked up at him in the darkness, the light making his hair a soft golden color in the night. 

" What conversation?" Winters asked her. Catherine watched him.

" We knew what it would mean if we joined the military, as women." Catherine told him, " And what it would mean if we were captured. And what could possibly happen to us. It's just always in the back of our minds." Winters watched her gently. 

Winters had known that in receiving Viragos, that would be placed into the backs of their minds. Operation Virago was successful so far, even if a few rumors circulated in the United Sates and newspapers covered story lines on quotes and images of it, but for the most part it was kept pretty hush-hush at the moment. But this was the first time women had served really on the front lines and Winters tried not to imagine if anyone of the women of the company were captured, what could possibly happen to them. But he pushed it from his mind regularly, even if it were a reoccurring thought.

" I try not to think about it, but I can't help it sometimes. And now with Lizzie, missing and Bull, too, I just can't. I can't keep it from my mind." Catherine said and sighed to herself, running a hand over her face. 

" Hey, Cath," Winters said placing a hand on her shoulder, as she softly looked towards him with sad eyes, " I know how much you care about Hazel and Lizzie and this company, it's okay to worry, but I know them. They wouldn't let that happen." Catherine watched Winters say that and with hopeful eyes.

" I have hope in them." Winters said gently. Catherine sucked in a soft breath and nodded. 

" Yes, sir." she said softly. She knew she had to trust his judgement. She had trusted him from day one, as he was 100x better than the CO they called Captain Sobel. And Winters just seemed to get these feelings sometimes about things and go along with it, and Catherine trusted that about him. He knew how to lead, and he knew how to reassure the members of the company he was currently leading. Catherine had never been more thankful for a man like Captain Winters. Winters watched Catherine, staring out at the flames.

" How about you bed down for the night." Winters said watching as Catherine's eyes glazed over with evident worry, " They'll be here in no time." Catherine glanced at Winters and then slowly nodded. 

" Yeah," she said nodding, " thank you, sir." Then Catherine slowly stepped away and retreated back towards the foxhole where Hazel worked diligently. Winters watched the worried Lieutenant go, as the flames lit her frame up in the night, before she slowly disappeared down over the dike again, and into a succumbed darkness. Catherine arrived at the foxhole and ate dinner with Hazel quietly. It was the only way to rid their worry for Bull and Lizzie's absence. That night the 2 girls bedded down in the foxhole, finally able to get some much needed rest even though they had layers of stress on top of them. 

The first thing Lizzie felt as she shifted awake, was the pain that seeped into the lower half of her body, her leg. Her hand immediately reached for the wound instinctively as her eyes shot open, and she was prepared to let out a scream. But a hand shot over her mouth, and her eyes snapped to whose hand it was. It was Bull, staring at her through the darkness as she forced herself to bite back the scream. Bull put his other hand to his lips, a finger of silence and Lizzie slowly nodded. Bull pulled his hand away as she bit her lip and her tongue, to prevent herself from screaming.

" Morphine?" Bull whispered so softly she could barely hear. She shook her head.

" I have to save it for the men." Lizzie told him. Bull gave her a look. Lizzie was notorious in Normandy for not giving care to herself even she when she needed it more than the men.

" It's only one thing of morphine, Doc." Bull told her, recognizing how much pain she was truly in. She needed that morphine. Lizzie let out the sound of what she could only describe as possibly a pissed off bird, and twisted to grab morphine from her bag, as she grunted in pain. Lizzie pulled the morphine out. She needed this to make sure she didn't die tonight, from mere pain. Lizzie plunged it into her opposite thigh and then let out a sigh as she leaned back against the wooden stall, pain slowly leaving her as numbness became her best friend. Lizzie glanced at Bull.

" Thanks for saving me, Bull." Lizzie said. Bull nodded to her softly. She was the medic, one of the beloved ones. Any member of the company would lay their life down for her.

" I removed your medic brassard and your American Flag symbol, we're stuck here until the Germans move out." Bull whispered to her and she nodded. Lizzie looked down at her wound, it had been rewrapped as well. Then suddenly, a cough was heard and Lizzie's hand flew to Bull's arm. Bull looked at her and put a finger to his lips.

" You can't move yourself, so stay here." he told her. She nodded, watching as Bull jumped up and slid behind a covering. Then she watched as he jumped forward and put his hands around a man's throat. Lizzie watched with wide eyes as then their two heads turned and looked elsewhere. The man said something, as Bull looked between him and whoever else he was looking at. Lizzie sat with wide eyes. She watched as Bull slowly stepped back from the man, with the knife he held in his hands, breathing slightly heavier than he had been before. 

Then there was a noise and Lizzie's head flipped quickly over to the source. Her eyes were wide as Bull shoved the man as well as what looked to be his daughter toward where Lizzie sat in the hay. Bull grabbed his rifle from beside Lizzie and then pushed to crouched next to the post beside him, looking out towards where the noise was coming from. It was the sound of a tank, rolling by, a loud one. Lizzie could see it's shadow as it slowly rolled by the barn that they were in. As the tank rolled away, Lizzie watched as Bull struggled to sit back down next to Lizzie. She narrowed her eyes.

" Bull, you're hurt." she whispered. 

" I'm fine." Bull said. Lizzie met eyes with the presumably Dutch man and his daughter before looking back at Bull, attempting to move towards him. But that's when the slightest twitch of her leg caused her to swallow a gasp that was meant to escape, as tears filled her eyes, and a spark of pain shot through her entire being. Lizzie watched as the Dutch man seemed to take charge and shuffle forward away from his daughter. The Dutch man said something, pointing to Bull's wound. Bull nodded. The Dutch man wanted to fix Bull's wound. Lizzie reached into her bag, sorting out a few bandages as well, and she tried to move again, but instead a groan slipped past her lips as she did so. The 3 heads looked at her.

" Lizzie, it's fine, stay put." Bull told her as she remained sitting still. But she was a medic, she was supposed to be moving about to help Bull, her comrade. She heard the Dutch man pull open the shoulder part of Bull's ODs and Lizzie watched his daughter kneel beside her father, watching curiously. Lizzie watched with a trained eye as the man pulled out a flask, of alcohol presumably and poured it onto Bull's wound. Bull grimaced. The man offered Bull as sip, and declined. She watched the Dutch man sip from it though. Lizzie struggled to move again, hearing Bull in pain, but her leg remained numb, and fear spiraled her system. She couldn't move.

" Just pull- _fuck_." she heard Bull say as she watched the Dutch man's fingers move near the wound, " Just pull it out." The man started speaking in Dutch. Bull pulled a knife from his side and handed it to the man.

" Once you feel you've touched the bullet, twist the knife, it'll slide out easier." Lizzie said from her position and the Dutch man and his daughter looked at her. She couldn't even begin to understand if they understood her but she just nodded. She felt she needed to help in some way. Lizzie bit her lip as she watched the knife penetrate Bull's skin and the wound, as Bull grimaced. Then she watched in relief as a shiny piece of bloodied shrapnel came from the wound. Lizzie sighed.

" Here," Lizzie said leaning forward with the cloth bandages in her hands. The Dutch man watched and she nodded. The Dutch man took it and began applying it to the Bull's wound as Lizzie watched earnestly, as he stuffed the cloth to Bull's bullet wound. 

Then all the sudden a German voice was heard ringing around the barn, and Bull pushed up and away from the trio. The Dutch men pulled his daughter close as Lizzie watched with a heavy heart as Bull raced forward to peak through what looked like a window. There was fire burning and German voices and the sound of a tank. Her heart raced. Bull came racing back and pulled the two Dutch members up and to their feet and away. 

She didn't know where they went, but she trusted Bull with her whole heart. Lizzie turned and began pulling hay on her, to mask her body if a German were to enter the barn. Then all the sudden, the barn doors opened and Lizzie shut her eyes, and laid against the ground, completely still as if she were dead, her bloody hands out in the open, hair askew. She hopefully wouldn't be seen, but she heard the Germans laughing, their voices loud and echoing off the walls. 

She remembered what Catherine said about what the Germans could do if they found someone like her, and still alive. 

Bull hadn't come back yet. The Germans though, from Lizzie's point of view, gave a poor look around the barn, but hoped that the cover the hay provided helped her out a bit. A majority of the Germans left, the ones that investigated the building as one remained, who seemed plucky and younger. She grimaced as Lizzie watched him peeing. She turned her head away. The man then grabbed his rifle and turned to head out, but then stopped and looked down towards the floor. Her heart dropped as he picked up a bloody piece of cloth and she mentally cursed. She watched the German begin to look around, as planes flew overhead. The German seemed to then stand and throw the cloth back to the ground, as if forgetting about it, or not caring. 

The German slowly retreated, but then a loud, bang, like a silver platter on the ground was sounded. Lizzie shut her eyes, and played dead, theoretically again. The German she heard, called out an urgent hello, the clicks of his weapon could be heard through her ears. The planes were getting louder. The man called out in German again as Lizzie sucked in a quiet breath. He kept speaking and calling out. Bull still had to be here. He kept calling out, urgently, his voice filled with fear. Something else clicked in the opposite corner of the barn as it sounded like birds fluttered and flapped flying away. 

The German called out again, his voice frantic. The planes seemed to shake the ground it felt as Lizzie squeezed her eyes shut; the Germans voice was too close for comfort. If he turned around, he'd spot her. Then all the sudden the German yelped and Lizzie's eyes flew open to see Bull, with his attached bayonet on the front of his weapon, lunging at the German. Lizzie couldn't really see from her position as Bull fought the German into what looked to be a corner, but she heard the grunts of each of them and the sound of their weapons and bayonets sliding past each other. Then she heard a scream, the Germans scream, and she watched his body fall into view and onto the ground. The German grunted and another spear noise was heard. Bull. Lizzie's heart raced. She wanted to do something, to move to try and help Bull, but her legs were entirely too numb to get her body moving. 

As Lizzie heard Bull and the German fighting she remembered Hazel telling her about weapon's combat training, with bayonets. It reminded her of the moment back before they had been dropped into war. Lizzie, struggled to grasp onto something and pull herself to her feet to try and help Bull. It's all she wanted. But then she began to hear stabbing and screams from the German. 

Bull had stabbed and killed him.

Lizzie let herself collapse in a heap on the ground again, a groan leaving her lips in pain. She watched Bull cover the body as the Dutch man aided him, but soon Bull pushed the Dutch man away and the two disappeared again. Lizzie focused back on her wound. She felt a dull throb in it again, she wasn't sure if she could take the pain much longer. Suddenly, Bull appeared and collapsed next to Lizzie in an exhausted heap. She looked over at him with sad eyes.

" Try and get some rest, Lizzie." Bull told her. Lizzie sucked in a breath and nodded, shrugging down against the wood in the hay and letting her eyes shut for a moment. 

She told herself that she needed rest. 


	54. hope

" The birds of hope are everywhere, listen to them sing."

_\- Terri Guillemets_

✰✰✰

" Hazel?" the voice called, as Hazel cracked a slightly bleary eye upward.  
  


" Hazel!" the voice called again in a whisper. She opened her eyes fully and slowly sat up with a rather pissed off expression.

" Who is it?" she asked quietly, as she reached up to rub her eyes. 

" Who do you think?" the voice whispered and she realized it was Tab. She grumbled to herself and slowly stood up, throwing the blanket over the other sleeping girl and stood up pulling herself out of the foxhole, up into the chilly night air. She looked towards Tab in the dark, with large bags under her eyes.

" What?" she asked.

" Winters wants you out on the road, with your sniper, scope out if you see Bull and Lizzie showing up or something." Tab explained.

" What time is it?" Hazel mumbled as she yawned again, glancing up towards the moon and the stars as another blast of night air hit her. 

" About 2330," Tab said glancing at his watch. She sighed to herself before standing and pulling her helmet on her head and shouldering her rifle.

" Your arm ok? Heard you took some shrapnel to it." he said in the moonlight as he glanced at the two women sound asleep. 

" It'll be fine, that's what Gene said." she said with a tired smile up at him.

" That's good," Tab said, " I'll take you up there." 

" Ok," Hazel said as she gave one more glance towards the two girls before following after Tab.

" What do they want me to do again?" she asked yawning, and Tab smirked as he took off his helmet and ran a hand through his hair before situating his helmet on his head again. 

" Looking out for Bull and Lizzie, possibly Germans, stuff like that." Tab said.

" Boy do I love being a sniper." Hazel said with a laugh, before stifling another yawn.

" Ah you know you love it." Tab said wrapping an arm over her shoulder as she chuckled." Yeah, yeah I do." she said. Tab led her to a position, above the dike, where she concealed with some bushes, facing the town of Nuenen.

" Someone will be here to trade off with you at about 0400, but Winters wanted you to start out for the midnight shift since he trusts you a lot with the sniper and all, plus you have a scope." Tab explained, as he glanced at his watch.

" Well," Hazel said as she adjusted herself down onto the gravel ground against the bushes, and set up her scope, " looks like I better get comfy." Tab smirked at her.

" I'll see ya around, good luck," he said quietly, before disappearing over the dike again and into the group of foxholes. Hazel sighed to herself, as she turned to her better viewing scope that she could use in the darkness. She rested her cheek against the pad on the sniper and let her look through the scope in front of her toward the town. 

She let her scope score the edge of the town, as she continued to see smoke billowing up above the town and every so often a bit of flame appear somewhere. She felt weird being alone in the middle of the night in the darkness. The day had already been so long and endless feeling so now as she sat there the exhaustion was as heavy as ever. She caught herself a few times as she almost fell asleep on the sniper, but she shot herself awake again, shaking herself awake or rubbing her eyes. She sighed to herself and soon the exhaustion overpowered her so much that she numb to falling asleep and felt like she was now permanently awake. She already didn't get a good amount of sleep last night, and now this was just not exactly enjoyable laying here, half awake it felt. 

Hazel's eyes began to hurt from squinting and she had to wiggle around a bit to shake her slightly numbed body awake a bit. She couldn't stop yawning and it was slightly boring just lying here, forcing herself to be awake. She did see tanks moving, but they went down an opposite road, and would not disturb the sleeping paratroopers. The explosions she heard, she figured out was where the Germans were bombing Eindhoven. 

Her heart felt heavy as she glanced back and saw the smoke and explosions. She tried to ignore the nagging in her head. The time clicked by slowly into the next day and she couldn't help but tell herself to sleep for a few minutes. But then she told herself no and to stay awake. It was like her own mental battle to stay awake. Hazel, near 0200, was wide awake at this point, the fight to not fall asleep long behind her. She enjoyed listening to the sounds of the night wind against the long grass, and the crickets that seemed scattered about. 

There was a big open sky above her, filled with stars and the moon that twinkled down on her and she felt she wasn't as alone as she felt. 

As 0400 neared, Hazel had seen virtually nothing as she had laid there, and she was just hoping to get at least 2 or 3 hours of sleep. When she heard the footsteps crunching toward her, she sighed in relief before glancing over her shoulder and finding Lip coming toward her. 

" Hey, Lip." she said as he approached, and gently crouched down by her side.

" Hey there, Tiny." he said as smiled at her.

" My shift over?" she asked, hopefully.

" Yeah, you're done." he said and he heard Hazel sigh with relief as she slowly got to her knees, and collapsed the rifle a bit. He could tell she was exhausted, but he knew she had taken a hit to the arm earlier today, and was now out here for almost 5 hours on watch with the sniper. 

" Try and get some rest." Lip said gently to her as she looked at him.

" Of course," she said with a nod. Lip smiled before moving into her position and setting up his weapon. Hazel slowly stood to her feet and adjusted her rifle on her shoulder.

" Bye, Lip." she said before offering a smile, and turning back towards the foxholes. Hazel moved towards her foxhole and happily discarded her weapon and helmet and tucked in next to Catherine, before falling fast asleep, easily, this time. 

The next time Lizzie awoke, a few birds were chirping and there was light streaming into the barn through windows or peaked caved in spots of the roof. Bull was awake beside her.

" We gotta get moving." Bull said to her as he realized she was awake. She nodded. He slowly stood and then crouched beside her.

" Think you can stand?" he asked her. She nodded. Bull held out his hand and Lizzie shakily grasped it, letting out a pained cry as Bull pulled her to her feet. Her leg pulsed and ached all at once. Lizzie leaned against Bull before pushing up from him to stand on her feet. Her leg gave way and she collapsed into Bull again.

" I can't stand, my leg's numb." she whispered, her voice filled with horror. 

" Here." Bull said and wrapped her arm over his shoulder, so she could at least hop on her one good foot. Bull slowly guided her out of the barn and into the bright light of the outside, morning world of Holland. The sky was filled with clouds as well as the pale blue it always was, and smoke blew around the entire town, where fires had once burned. Bull stopped their walking at a certain point and Lizzie looked down to see it was James Miller, one of Bull's replacements. Lizzie looked away and let Bull look at him for a moment in silence.

" Let me grab his tag." Bull said as he slowly placed Lizzie down against the little foot bridge nearby. Lizzie watched as Bull reached forward and pulled his tag from his neck. Bull watched Miller for a moment before suddenly the sound of a jeep, an Army jeep was heard. Lizzie looked up and a small smile etched onto her tired and pained features. She watched Bull stand and raise his weapon in the air, to show they were in fact Americans. The jeep stopped and Bull glanced back at the sight of the barn briefly before helping Lizzie up again. She groaned, a pained, exhausted groan as her and Bull slowly moved towards the jeep.

" She's injured." Bull called as they approached. The man on the machine gun of the jeep, jumped down to get on Lizzie's other side and help her toward the jeep. Lizzie let out a grimace as she was helped into a seating position next to the driver, her hand flying to her leg.

" What happened to you, ma'am?" the gunner asked her.

" Just a bullet wound." she muttered out in pain with a grimace. Bull slowly sat beside her and glanced towards her.

" You ok?" he asked her.

" Yes." she answered with a nod, grimacing, " I will be." The jeep started moving, driving off down the road toward where the company was. They rounded a corner and Lizzie watched through her eyes as she saw about 5 soldiers ahead of them; American soldiers. One raised his weapon in the air as the jeep slowly approached and pulled to a quick stop. She smiled when she saw Hoobler, and Webster, and Hashey and Tony, and begrudgingly Cobb. Hoobler let out a laugh as he approached and saw the medic and the Bull.

" Where the fuck you two been?" Hoobler said as he approached them. Lizzie smiled slightly. 

" Glad to see you boys." Bull said.

" Not as glad as us." Hashey said.

" Bet you thought we'd given up on you there, huh, boss?" Cobb said as he leaned forward and Lizzie frowned.

" Shut up, Cobb." Hashey said.

" What?" Cobb said.

" I think we should go back now." Webster said from behind and Lizzie glanced at him with a smile. 

" Hop in." Lizzie said and the group of 5 boys smiled. Hazel woke up to the sun beating down on her, or at least that's what it felt like. She opened her eyes more and glanced over to see Catherine wasn't there. She looked up and saw the girl sitting outside of the foxhole eating. Hazel slowly stood to her feet, yawning widely and sticking her head out of the foxhole.

" Good morning, sleepyhead." Catherine said to her as Hazel smiled and yawned again.

" Winters had me go up and do watch from 2330 to 0400 last night." Hazel said.

" Damn, really?" Catherine asked and Hazel nodded. 

" Come on out, eat some food, you'll feel better." Catherine said, holding out her K-ration.

" Thanks." Hazel said as she slowly hopped out of the foxhole and sat with her. 

" Bull and Lizzie still missing?" Catherine asked and Hazel nodded.

" Thought they would've shown up by now." Catherine said sadly. Suddenly the noise of a truck entering the area where the paratroopers had their foxholes rolled in with a group of soldiers in the back. Hazel's eyes lit up at the sight.

" It's Bull and Lizzie!" Hazel said, as she hopped up quickly, as Catherine looked over with wide eyes.

" Bull! Lizzie!" Catherine called as the truck pulled to a stop. Bull stepped out, but was the one to help Lizzie out. Lizzie didn't step out on her own. 

" Hey, guys." Lizzie said.

" Lizzie you're hurt." Hazel said stepping forward to wrap her arm over her shoulder. 

" I'll be ok, always am." Lizzie said, and then grimaced as she shifted it, " it hurts a bit."

" We'll get you up there." Hazel said as Catherine stepped back from hugging Bull.

" It's good to have you back, Bull." Catherine said.

" Thank you, Lieutenant." Bull told her and she smiled with a nod and wink. Catherine then came over to Lizzie's other side and began moving up the side of the mountain to where Gene would be most likely awaiting.

" Lizzie!" a voice called and the trio of women stopped and saw George coming towards them, a wild smile upon his face. 

" Hey, George!" Lizzie said as George approached them. Hazel and Catherine let Lizzie stand for a moment and it seemed George didn't hesitate to pull the young medic into his arms in a tight hug. Lizzie fell against him in a hug and let out a quiet sigh into him. Hazel smiled softly. Lizzie stumbled back, hopping on her good foot a bit as George held his one arm on her shoulder.

" You ok?" George asked, eyeing her leg. 

" Bullet wound." Lizzie confirmed as everyone looked at her.

" Bullet wound? Elizabeth!" George said as Lizzie smirked slightly.

" I'm fine, I'm shot up with morphine." Lizzie said as the women and George looked at her.

" Oh you're shot up alright." George commented and Lizzie snickered a bit, and then grimaced as she shifted a bit. 

" Let's get you to Gene, alright?" Hazel said, as she slide up Lizzie's arm again.

" Yeah," Lizzie said, as Catherine came to her other side.

" You think you'll be taken off the line?" George asked her. Lizzie bit her lip.

" Hopefully not," Lizzie said, but she knew she would. It was a bullet wound and it was probably infected. George looked at her hopefully and nodded stepping back. 

" I hope not." George called as the trio headed off in search of Gene.

" Lizzie!" a voice called and the girls looked up to see Gene rushing forward, removing his helmet, eyes already on Lizzie's wound, and the poorly wrapped bandage that was hanging from it. 

" What happened?" he asked as Catherine and Hazel let Lizzie stand.

" Bullet wound, I got it out though." Lizzie told him; that didn't erase the worry from his face though. 

" Here, let me get you to a truck, alright?" Gene asked her and she nodded, letting her arm wrap over his neck as she hobbled a bit. Lizzie glanced at the looks upon both Catherine Hazel's faces.

" I'll be ok." Lizzie said with a nod, " I promise."

" Stay safe." Hazel said softly with a nod and Lizzie smiled slightly.

" I promise." Lizzie said as Gene led her away towards a truck. Hazel and Catherine looked at each other.

" She'll have to be taken off the line." Catherine whispered softly running a hand through her hair and sighed. Hazel let out a quiet sigh and nodded, as she bit her lip worriedly, something was had caused her to constantly do now.

" She'll be ok though, remember that, Lizzie's tough." Catherine said wrapping her arm over Hazel's shoulders and Hazel nodded with a tiny smile.

" Yeah, she always is." Hazel said, convincing herself that with a small smile. Everybody was loaded up onto trucks, and moving out away from Nuenen, which was left up in smoke and flames. Hazel could see Winters looking toward the town from where she sat on the truck turning onto the road. She bit her lip, only before seeing him look over towards the truck and seeing Bull and Lizzie there with Gene, Bull's arm and shoulder wrapped up, Lizzie sitting beside Gene. Hazel could see the tiny nod Winters offered and she smiled to herself. 

Catherine walked a little behind Nixon and Winters, knowing that what Nixon had just discussed wither her, was being discussed with Winters. They were most likely heading into more tanks, more soldiers and the need to find another way to get into Germany. She smiled a bit, as she looked over and saw Skip by her side. The war over by Christmas wasn't an option and it was clear that Holland and most of Europe was still swarming with Krauts.

" How you doing Lieutenant?" Skip asked her as the two walked in step a bit behind Winters and Nixon. Catherine smiled softly, glancing towards the trucks that slowly pulled away one after the other. Even if the war wasn't going to be over by Christmas, and they might have to fight for a few more months, that didn't matter in this moment. They had Lizzie and Bull back, two beloved members of Easy Company, and Catherine felt, for now, on this day, that's all that mattered. Catherine turned to Skip who smiled fondly at her. 

" You know what, Skip," she said, wrapping an arm over his shoulder and looking towards him with a picture-perfect grin, " for now, I'm okay. We all are."

**_' MARKET GARDEN' was a high risk operation that failed. The Allies plan to end the war by Christmas 1944 was not to succeed. Easy Company's Regiment, the 506th, lost 180 men while 560 were wounded, including Elizabeth Elliot._ **

**_Of the entire 101st Airborne, 750 were killed and 2,100 injured. At Arnhem, the British 1st Airborne lost nearly 8,000 men._ **


	55. low morale

" Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." 

\- Norman Cousins

✰✰✰

Once they had rolled away from Nuenen, Easy Company was on the road again, moving through Holland. The night after Lizzie was evacuated and they had gotten Bull back, with a neatly wrapped soldier, courtesy of Gene, Easy bedded out near Breugel. 

Hazel had shared with Catherine the night before, but after the failure of Market Graden, all the officers were called to HQ to go over new orders straight from Sink. Catherine had told Hazel not to worry about her tonight and instead bed out with someone else, Catherine wasn't sure if she was getting any sleep tonight. 

So Hazel slowly wandered through the dark, her helmet strap swinging as she moved through, eyes searching for Joe; she figured he'd be open. Hazel eventually found Joe Liebgott, digging a foxhole alone, which was surprising as Hazel had figured Joe would be off with Chuck or Tab or Alley. 

" Hey," Hazel said as she approached. Joe immediately looked up at the sound of her voice and a smirk spread across his lips. Hazel grinned.

" Hey, Parker." he said, turning to stake the shovel in the ground, before leaning back on the dirt, " What's up?"

" Catherine probably won't be back, all officers have been called to HQ," Hazel said as Joe met her eyes, a playful grin now adorning his lips, " so she sent me off." 

" C'mon, Tiny, you could've just said you needed a foxhole partner." Joe said, seeing right through her. She hadn't wanted to bug him entirely. She offered an embarrassed smile. 

" I didn't want to bother you." Hazel said and Joe's smirk only grew.

" You can always be my foxhole partner and you know that." Joe said as he slowly stood up and out of the foxhole and looked down at her.

" So, wanna help?" he asked her. She grinned and nodded. Her and Joe got to work, digging out the remnants, before sitting down side by side and sharing a K-ration. There was quiet chatter in the field as the two passed bits of food to break off and eat back and forth, before sharing some of the water in their canteen. 

Hazel eventually lied back in the grass and Joe did the same, something they always seemed to do now. Hazel sighed softly to herself before turning and glancing over toward Joe.

" Joe?" she asked him softly. Joe slowly turned his head to glance at her. He could see the stars in her big, blue eyes, reflecting like a million lanterns were floated towards the sun. 

" What's up?" he asked her. 

" The war. They said if we succeeded with Market Garden, we'd take Berlin by Christmas and the war would be over, I don't think that's going to happen anymore." Hazel said. Joe quirked a brow her way and slowly sat up on his elbow looking down at her.

" What makes ya say that?"

" We retreated." Hazel said simply, looking up at him, with a slight frown on her lips. Joe bit back his lip and looked out towards the guys who milled about.

" It was one battle, right? I mean we can't win every one." Joe said shrugging his shoulders. Hazel nodded softly and let out a sigh.

" You're right." she said, as she thought back on Nuenen. 

" Your arm ok?" Joe asked, and Hazel watched his eyes trail down to her wrist area. Hazel slowly sat up, her head rushing a bit, as she slowly pulled back the sleeve of her ODs to reveal the bandage Gene had nimbly attached earlier that day. 

" It's healing, but I'll be fine though. A little scratch won't do any harm." she said as she slowly pulled the OD sleeve back down.

" Hey, what's that?" he asked her and Hazel glanced at him before turning to follow his gaze where he pointed at her wrist. Hazel noticed that his eyes were trained on her bracelet, the one from Grace. 

A small smile fell on Hazel's lips. 

Hazel slowly brought her wrist up to her lap and gently let her right hand pick up the tiny bracelet from her wrist and hold it in her grasp. 

" Grace gave it to me." Hazel said, and bit back her lip before glancing at Joe who was softly watching her in the moonlight. Hazel slowly turned the bracelet in her hands a bit. 

" She said I was like a daughter to her because she couldn't have kids," Hazel said, her smile dropping a bit, " and so she gave it to me, before you took me to the pub." Joe smiled softly, the corner of his mouth upturned as he watched Hazel overturn the bracelet in her hands a bit, the slight shine the bracelet gave off as she turned it, glimmering under the glow of the moon. 

" You should have it." Hazel said, turning and handing it towards Joe. Joe stared at her.

" Hazel, Grace gave it to ya, I'd hate to take it from you." Joe said, pushing her hand back.

" Incase I get hit," Hazel said, watching him, as he noticed fear overwhelming her eyes. In all the time he'd seen her in war, there seemingly wasn't an ounce of fear in her eyes, but now, now there was. 

And it was a fear that had been shoved deep down into the darkest pits in her guts, hoping to never escape again. Hazel gently reached forward and took Joe's hand in her lap and brought the bracelet around his thin wrist. 

" Hazel..."

" If I don't make it back, please at least take it to my mom." Hazel said glancing at Joe, a small smile on her lips, an unwavering one at that. 

" Hazel, you're going to make it back." Joe said sitting up as his hand slid from her grasp. Hazel watched Joe, a soft smile on her face. 

" Snipers don't have a high rate of making it back home, Joe." she said softly. Joe watched her.

" Don't say that, Parker." Joe said, reaching forward and placing a hand on her shoulder. Hazel softly grinned at him and shrugged.

" I've accepted it," she said softly, " better to accept death than to deny it." Joe watched her eyes, which seemed tormented and overwhelmed with stress and worry. 

Beautiful eyes that shouldn't have to worry a second about life or death. But instead, she was risking her life, saying if she died, she'd have accepted it by that point in time. 

" Hell, Tiny, you're braver than me." Joe said as he pulled his wrist back and looked at the bracelet on his wrist. It was dainty, and simple, with a gold chain that held it together on his wrist and nothing else. Hazel bit back her lip and watched as Joe gently touched it. 

" I mean it when I say you're braver than me, Hazel." Joe said softly, slowly averting his gaze to her eyes which watched him gently, " Only other person who seems to have accepted death is that crazy lunatic Lieutenant Speirs, and he's fucking nuts." A small smile fell on Hazel's lips.

" Crazy lunatic is right." Hazel said and Joe snickered. 

" It's brave though, I mean I have a hard time setting myself in that mindset." Joe said as Hazel softly smiled again. 

" I never thought I'd have that mindset in war, but it helps with the memories." Hazel said, and then nodded, looking out at the stars. 

Joe watched Hazel's eyes, even if it were from the side. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but Hazel truly fascinated him. 

And it was a good fascination. 

A fascination in the sense of adoration. And Joe never thought he'd adore Hazel as much as he did, because he kept a tight circle usually. 

But Hazel....Hazel was Hazel. 

She wasn't fake, she wasn't someone who tried to be someone else, she was loyal and trustworthy and genuine and Joe just knew he could talk to her about anything. Joe had never admitted it to anyone, but he had always thought that even from the start that she had a beautiful soul. And even if it were cliche, he had never met someone who was like Hazel. And he was glad that the person he did meet was Hazel. 

Maybe it was the look in her eyes when she greeted everyone in the barracks as he stood cowering in the corner pissed off at Bill Guarnere for the fight that broke out between the two of them, and then the anger that resided with him the rest of the boat ride. 

Maybe it was the fairly firm handshake she had offered and the way her eyes were gentle enough to tell a different story compared to the rest of the company. 

Maybe it was because she didn't approach him, asking what the other girls would ask; a dance, a kiss. 

Maybe it was because she had accepted Joe for who he was and didn't seem to care that he was a real asshole or that he was someone who would fight people, until his hands dripped crimson red blood, down his knuckles and into his fingers. 

Maybe it was what she had said to him, as she looked into her eyes, without fear, that sometimes people fought because they fought for what they believed in. 

Maybe because instead of doubting himself for launching at Bill, he actually believed it, for a probable cause. Joe didn't know what it was, why he was the way he was, but Hazel had accepted him for him - and she always seemed to do that with every person. 

Joe Liebgott felt there was no higher strength than that. 

Joe and Hazel eventually bedded down for the night, tucked into the foxhole, as the temperature dropped and it became a bit colder. They had no blankets yet; freshly dropped in and that was the last thought on Sink's mind. The officers just wanted this war done with. But Hazel, surprisingly fell asleep as if it were in the blink of an eye, curled up in a ball her head lulling until her eyes slid shut and she heard tiny snores from Joe's mouth fill her ears. 

They were woken up early the following morning with new orders. They were to defend all the ports that streamed into Eindhoven for as long as they were needed to. And the Germans were planning audacious little attacks, one after the other supposedly, setting it straight on the 82nd who had been defending the left ports since yesterday and the runner had already brought back the heavy casualty reports. 

In the days that followed after Nuenen, there were patrols, there were full fledged planned attacks, there were nights where sleep was nonexistent, and you were stuck, frozen at 0200 staring out towards the enemy line, praying one didn't clean your head from your shoulders. Hazel prayed more, more than ever. 

Each shot was a prayer and she even hastily said prayers afterwards as well. And she was praying before sleep and before she ate. It was her only way to cope with the terror that came upon the grim war that only grew worse. 

The only beacon hope was Lieutenant Catherine McCown. 

True to her word and her character, she was one of the best Lieutenants Easy could've gotten. 

Catherine, in a way, was a reflection of the way the NCOs were. She was often seen in the company of one of the NCOs or First Sergeant Lipton, a smirk playing on her face, even in the exhausted nights that were filled with rain and mud and sweat. She was tactful, intelligent and she knew how to lead a group with ease, without as much of being flustered. And the NCOs were never more grateful to have Catherine there to guide them. 

Low morale riddled Easy Company, and even the NCOs were struggling to keep up the smiles that were disappearing from peoples' faces. But good ole Catherine McCown was persistent. Catherine's presence was a game changer for most. She was a force to reckon with. Many people agreed that the Catherine and her leadership of the NCOs were the reason they could get up in the morning from their foxholes. Catherine was someone who was observant of most things, and the closed off atmosphere of Gene Roe was one of them. 

It was no secret that he missed Lizzie. 

The group of 6 medics were thick as thieves, but Gene and Lizzie were closer than the rest. They just meshed together it seemed, like Yin and Yang, bouncing off each other, they just worked. Gene remained closed off without his medic buddy there. Lizzie always seemed to bring him out of his shell a bit, and he usually always laughed around her, so when Catherine would see Gene, avoiding people, just trying to get to the aid station, to then only be up all night, either worrying or stressing over other people, Catherine always felt her heart break. 

Eugene Roe had been the one to save Catherine from near death and now Catherine felt she couldn't do a thing to save him. 

And medics were the strongest people she'd ever met and the bravest, bearing the worst battle scars out of any one. Seeing Gene this way hurt her more than anyone could imagine. Because she knew that he worried for Lizzie and missed the blonde medic by his side. Catherine worried for everyone, it was just something she always had about herself, worrying about everyone in the company or the platoon or the officers or their CO. 

By the 2nd week, after their week of defending the bridge ports around Eindhoven, they were finally making a bit of a push up towards Arnhem. Not that it was a big push, but they were finally moving away from the positions they occupied, that consisted of cold, crappy foxholes, that had been filled with rain water last night when they finally were let off the front lines for relief. 

So now, Easy Company led 2nd Battalion as they walked through the rain, in two lines along the side of the road, towards Arnhem, even though they were only pushing to the town of Veghel. 

Hazel walked behind Malarkey as their feet squished into the mud and the rain poured down as if it were buckets of water onto their already soaked and shaking bodies. It was absolutely miserable, their feet soaked with water and mud, their ODs soaked, people shaking from the cold, others were half asleep, some could barely walk with their eyes open. It was a miserable looking sight. Hazel glanced around Malarkey to look towards Catherine who walked along the center with a couple of the other LIeutenants, conversing with them quietly or talking in a hushed voice. 

Then, a quiet voice began singing, a rather gruff one, but it was a fairly gentle, calming singing voice.

It was Joe Toye. 

And he was singing now, that song he was humming back on D-Day, _I'll Be Seeing You_. And as he sang, a few others joined in around him, the quiet hymn slowly snaking through the company, as people stopped noticing the rain fell like bullets and that their feet were soaked. They just sang for some joy and for some hope and for a bit of bliss where the only sound you heard wasn't the squishing of your wet feet in the mud. 

As Hazel walked, listening to Malarkey now chiming in, Hazel looked down at her feet as they moved through the muddy street, and softly mouthed the words on her lips, barely even able to start up the voice that lay deep in the back of her throat. 

So she just walked silently, listening to the few guys who sang get led by Joe Toye in the song, mouthing the words, as if it were a prayer for the days that were to come.


	56. in sickness and in health

" Health is not valued till sickness comes."

_\- Thomas Fuller_

✰✰✰

That night, as the rain continued to pour Easy arrived at their positions which was a muddy looking, open field, surrounded by trees. Hazel, in the past week had been assigned partners with Shifty for when they did patrols or the two had a duo patrol to do and so they became foxhole partners. And Shifty was one of her closest friends, here, and the two respected and thought of each other highly. Joe had been partnered up with Alley from that time on, because of the patrols they were being sent on. 

It was just like a big buddy system. So Shifty and Hazel dug out their foxhole that night as the rain continued to pour and then bedded out that night, trying to make the most of sleeping at that point, if it were in a downpour in the middle of Holland. 

By the following morning when Hazel and Shifty had been awoken from a dead sleep, snoring and just completely exhausted, they were practically yanked out of their foxholes and sent on the first patrol at 0700. Leading the patrol was Bill Guarnere and it seemed that random groups of people were pulled from each platoon. As Hazel and Shifty arrived where Bill and about 8 other people stood Bill gave the two a nod.

" Alright, Battalion wants us to head out early, scope out the town a bit, see what's living in there, stuff like that. Supposedly, there's an attack planned for later today to try and get through the town so we can push towards Arnhem again, or so they say." Bill explained and a few nods and sighs echoed around the group. 

" They're not expecting many people, if so just civilians, but it's Holland we were promised old men and kids and that ain't what we got, so just keep those eyes peeled." Bill explained and the group nodded.

" Now, Joe," Bill said pointing to Joe Toye who stood with a rather exhausted looking face. Joe gave a sarcastic smile.

" Don't go running through this town like you did Aldbourne and scare the shit out of these guys, alrigh? That was Aldbourne and you had half of them shaking on their knees from fear. We don't do that here." Bill said a slight smirk on his face.

" Yeah, yeah, I gotcha, no scaring the civilians." Joe said as Bill smirked at him with a nod.

" Alright, we're moving." Bill said and turned, heading through the trees towards the town which sat on an upwards slope. They had the high ground. The group moved through the trees of the forest, their footsteps attempting to be as quiet as they could be, as the clouded sky barely showed semblance of a rising sun.

" You think there's gonna be Germans in this town?" Hazel asked softly to Shifty who crouched by her side as they moved behind the rest of the group, where Hazel saw a dew soaked machine gun resting on Smokey's shoulder, as he exchanged cigarettes with Alton. She watched Shifty's gentle doe eyes glance her way and through the trees.

" Well," he said softly, his voice gentle in the morning, " I'm hoping if there are there's not a lot." Hazel smiled softly at Shifty who's eyes were soft.

" Yeah," Hazel said, " I hope." Hazel had woken up a bit foggy in the head if that's what you call it, woozy on the feet. She didn't know how to describe it, but she felt she wasn't actually there in the patrol at the moment.

" How are you holding up?" Shifty asked her. Hazel glanced over at Shifty and sighed softly.

" Best as I can Shifty," she said, and Shifty, couldn't help but take notice of the sadness in her eyes.

" Something bothering you? Your mom okay?" Shifty asked, stepping closer to her. Hazel blew out the air in her cheeks and sighed. 

" Mom's fine, it's just," Hazel dropped off, her mind stumbling over words, " you ever think about what might've happened if you hadn't joined up?" Shifty glanced her way and then nodded softly.

" I just, I don't sleep well at night anymore, because I see the faces of the men I killed." Hazel said. As a sniper, it was designated that your job and your position was to kill men and she had now raked up over 50 kills by this point and the dissatisfying taste that settled into the pit of her chest, was enough to unnerve her. 

" Don't give me that look, Shifty," Hazel said, a small sad frown on her face as Shifty watched her worriedly. He raised his brow up in the air at her.

" I know," Hazel said softly, " it just is a struggle sometimes." Her soft smile didn't diminish the fact that she wasn't sleeping and it didn't lower Shifty's worry for his friend.

" You wanna talk about it? Mom would always have me talk out my night terrors as a kid." Shifty said gently as Hazel looked towards him. 

" You'd listen?" she asked.

" Yeah, of course, I mean I think everyone gets night terrors like that." Shifty said with a soft smile, " They suck." Hazel giggled softly.

" Yeah, they do." Hazel said as Shifty gently placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded.

" It's just always the same sequence of things, you know?" Hazel said as she began to tremble, her mind knocking around, from side to side, " And it's always the same images, the same ones over and over, and it plays as if it were a movie." Shifty watched her eyes. Her eyes, he found, said more than what her lips could ever say. Eyes always did that. 

" It just, I hate the way I feel when I wake up after it," she said with a sad smile, " I've grown used to it though. And I know you're there when I wake up, so it's comforting." A small grin grew on Shifty's face as he gently squeezed her shoulder, something his father always did back home, to comfort Shifty as a small child.

" I'll always be there, and you know that, I'm your friend." Shifty said and Hazel felt a genuine smile pull up on her face. 

" Thank you, Shifty." Hazel said. She knew she didn't tell him details about the dream, for the realism of it all was enough to send her spiraling, but for him to just simply tell her he was there, was comfort enough for her and for him as well it seemed.

" Hey!" a voice called from the front and the duo saw Bill waving at the group to crouch, before he held his hand up in a fist, holding the group. They had walked to the edge of the forest, which ran along the outskirts of the town with enough coverage so if someone were watching them, they wouldn't notice. 

" Shift, Tiny." Bill's quick, firm voice hissed as the two slowly moved up to Bill's side as he crouched.

" I want you two, scoped, alright?" Bill said, " Tiny you'll head left about 100 feet and Shift to my right, okay? We're only moving as close as we can to the town and then we'll be heading back." Shifty and Hazel nodded before they were sent off in their opposite directions. Hazel trekked off to the left, counting to 100 in her head. She could still see the rest of the awaiting patrol among the trees, but it was far enough away that it wasn't entirely noticeable that she were here. Hazel gently laid down in the wet ground of the forest and scoped out the town in front of them, adjusting her scope, and gently curling herself up, as her cheek rested on the pad of the rifle. 

Usually when she did solo patrols or patrols that involved small groups like this, she did a lot of thinking, something she tried not to do on the regular. But now she thought about Lizzie, who had been quickly whisked away by Gene, assuming he tried his best to convince himself she wasn't being pulled from the line, before Lizzie was carted away. But Hazel knew Lizzie and Lizzie risked her life for others. She didn't know how the injury had occurred, why it had occurred, but she figured deep down it was because Lizzie was risking her life for others. It was something Lizzie did daily, giving even some of the officers quite the scare. 

Hazel silently lay in wait, watching the patrol move across the field which was filled with high grass, as Bill commanded with ease to the members of the group. Hazel watched the road that lead into the trees though, as Shifty kept an eye most likely on the outskirts of the town. Hazel's ears strained for the noise of some truck or horse feet or even the clicking of a German company moving into their own new position. Which she wasn't exactly excited for, as the company were probably involved in the attacks they had made on the ports to Eindhoven all last week with the smallest bit of thought for other humans. But no one in war ever thought as that. The patrol stayed in their positions, but the town, oddly enough, seemed weirdly silent. 

So, they pulled back by 0900 and headed back towards where Easy was camped out. Hazel never failed to glance over her shoulder every so often, as if a German were following them. But she was just surprised. As the Germans had made attacks all week, it wasn't like them to just leave a city of Holland as dead as that seemed. Bill dismissed them and then went on the search for Catherine. 

Hazel and Shifty went back to their foxhole and decided to start eating some food because Hazel wasn't feeling right. Maybe it was just the rain that made her head ache and her shoulders sore or the stuffed up nose. Maybe it were the stress and lack of sleep. 

Yeah, that had to be it. 

Hazel took a bit of the K-ration and felt sick to her stomach after, so she decided to try and just sleep. Shifty had made sure that she at least got about an hour while they weren't doing anything else. 

News spread; they weren't attacking, not yet. 

They wouldn't waste mens' lives or ammo until it seemed the city was alive. And so, that night, Hazel bedded down next to Shifty, with the shakes, and shivers and a running nose that was persistent. She felt miserable as she curled into Shifty's side, with the feeble blankets that had been passed out that afternoon. 

Shifty was worried about Hazel, shaking horribly under her arm, but equally burning up at the exact same time. So, he just held her closer, knowing that if Joe heard she were sick, he'd probably lose it and be doing everything to make sure she got better. So, Shifty did his best, to keep her warm and to hopefully work off the bit of heat that sweltered her.

" Berlin by Christmas my ass." muttered Catherine as her own runny nose was rather persistent in its duty. Sickness was spreading like a disease through the 101st, and Catherine figured she a tinge of something, but it didn't slow her. Boy, she took it as one of those hurdles on the track and formally blasted it away. 

" Commands pretty fucking luny if they thought Berlin by Christmas was an option, wouldn't ya think?" Bill said and the two snickered together.

" Hey, I meant to ask you, how's your ma doing?" Catherine asked him. Her and Bill had spent many nights out late, talking about their home lives and their families, hoping they could be home soon and they discussed the death of his brother Henry and the impact it had on his family. 

Bill and Catherine trusted and respected one another, and Bill had told her plenty of times that she was worthy of that Lieutenant position and her control of the NCOs from Battalion, simply because of her undying strength, love and support that swarmed the NCOs. She cared for each one of them and every once of them followed her like a puppy, noble and loyal.

" Doing ok, sent her a letter before we left, so I'm hoping she writes back soon." Bill said and Catherine smiled, " She asked how the company was." Catherine grinned.

" Really?"

" Yeah, I told her I have a crazy Lieutenant checking up on me almost daily, making sure my platoon's in line and his name happened to be Cooper McCown." Bill said and Catherine snickered. 

" Ah, the fake name I've been asserted." Catherine said and Bill chuckled.

" Yeah, you like?" Bill said and Catherine laughed. 

" Yeah, yeah, if anything she knows someone crazy from Battalion's making sure her baby boy is safe." Catherine said and Bill chuckled.

" Does she suspect a thing?" Catherine asked. Supposedly there had been rumors that there were females involved in the military ranks, but they'd been shut down by reporters quicker than a rock being thrown into water. It was called ridiculous for such a thought to be touched upon.

" Nope," Bill said and Catherine nodded.

" Good, thank god." Catherine said and Bill smirked. 

" I promise, Mack, I would never say a word about you three, we love ya too much." Bill said and Catherine grinned.

" So if you only liked us, we'd probably be dead." Catherine said and Bill smirked at her.

" Crazy Lieutenant." Bill murmured and Catherine gave his shoulder a shove.

" At least I'm not Sobel." Catherine said and Bill actually laughed. 

" You got a point there Mack." Bill said, " I heard about Thermes though, crazy sonofabitch."

" Try getting woken up at 0300 by a fucking alarm going off and then having to run in the pitch dark for 5 miles." Catherine said, " He was nuts." Bill chuckled. 

" Mud pits in the cold were fun." Catherine said.

" So ice pits."

" Basically." Catherine said and Bill chuckled.

" Sounds nuts, I like it." Bill said. 

" You like anything crazy Bill." Catherine said and Bill smirked proudly.

" I tend to attract it." Bill said.

" Oh I know." Catherine said and Bill gave her shoulder a shove as she laughed.

" You suck." Catherine said and Bill just chuckled as they approached Hazel and Shifty's foxhole which was on the edges of the field.

" Hey," Catherine called as they crouched by the edge of the foxhole only to see Hazel shivering in Shifty's grip, pale and attempting to sleep.

" She ok?" Bill asked crouching down next to the foxhole.

" She said she wasn't feeling good earlier, and she didn't eat. She went to sleep, but she's cold, really cold, hence the blankets, but she feels feverish." Shifty said. Bill glanced up at Catherine.

" We should probably take her to the aid station, she's probably sick." Bill said, looking back at Shifty.

" What will they do for her?" Catherine asked.

" One of the medics can check her out, see if she has a fever and how serious it is, we can go from there." Bill said. 

" Hazel?" Catherine called as Hazel's eyes blinked open slowly and she glanced up towards the two girls, letting out an unpleasant cough.

" Hey," Hazel croaked out; poor girl couldn't catch a break. Her voice sounded anything but existent. 

" Shifty says you're not feeling well, wanna head over to the aid station? Take your temp?" Catherine asked her.

" Yeah," Hazel said as she shifted away from Shifty and grabbed her helmet to adjust on her head. She gave Shifty the top blanket before standing up slowly. Her muscles ached as she struggled to get out of the foxhole. Bill heard the groan leave Hazel's lips. Catherine helped her out as she regained her footing and slowly stood. Hazel wrapped the blanket around her body before walking between Bill and Catherine towards the aid station. 

" I feel terrible." Hazel muttered, as she sniffled a few times with a stuffed up nose. 

" We'll get you feeling better soon, it's been getting colder each night." Bill said, as he glanced at his watch.

" No wonder." Hazel said as she shivered. The two girls and Bill arrived at the aid station and walked inside as a medic came up to them. 

" What's up?" he asked.

" She's not feeling well, we think she's got a fever, if you could just take her temp." Catherine said. 

" What are your symptoms?" the medic asked Hazel.

" My throat hurts, and my nose is stuffed and running. My head hurts and feels stuffed up, and even though I'm freezing, I'm sweating and my face feels warm." Hazel explained. 

" Come with me, we'll get you checked out." the medic said with a smile and he led Hazel away.

" I hope she feels better, she looks pale." Catherine said as she lit a cigarette outside of the aid station. 

" Me too, she's been through a lot. Poor kid. " Bill said with a sigh. The medic tested Hazel for a fever, and it came back 102.3. Hazel had sighed to herself. The medic had diagnosed her with the flu, which she wasn't entirely surprised with herself. He had given her a shot of penicillin, hopefully to start helping her feel better. She fell asleep quickly that night next to Shifty. 

Winters took Hazel off night duty, and assigned Catherine in her place after Catherine reported to Winters that night, which Catherine took in stride with a smile. She was good at her job, attempting to keep morale up, even if it was at the lowest it had ever been with Hazel sick and Lizzie still gone, and still injured, yet hopefully healing up the best she could be. Catherine effectively moved between company and Battalion and managed to not bat an eye at the stress that consumed her. It's why she had people rally behind her and why she could be such an effective leader. People felt better simply just in her presence. 

It was a good feeling to have, a trustworthy person; in a way she was like Winters. The company could trust Catherine with their lives. 

By the next morning, Hazel figured it was September 29th at least, by the bitter chill in the air. Christmas was just around the corner. Shifty gently helped her out of the foxhole and let her sit, wrapped in a blanket by his side as she slowly forced food into her system to keep her going. Hazel's eyes had changed overnight. 

Yesterday, she had just looked a bit faint, but now her eyes were filled with the fever, with just the way her eyes never truly focused. It was clear she felt horrible. When Joe found out Hazel was sick, he was already moving towards Shifty and Hazel's foxhole, quicker than light it seemed.

" Hey!" Joe called as he approached the two and Hazel slowly looked up in her woozy state to see Joe coming forward towards her.

" Joe," Hazel said and she attempted a tiny smile as her best friend was quick to crouch by her side and meet her eyes.

" I heard you're sick." Joe said, as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder and could feel the heat radiating from her face. 

" I'm fine." Hazel said and her voice sounded like gravel. Joe met Shifty's eyes which were filled with stress and worry. Joe bit back his lip.

" You being pulled from the line?" Joe asked her.

" No," Hazel said, " I'm not hurt, I'm not bleeding, I'm fine. I can fight." Joe watched Hazel as she spoke. She looked like she needed to be pulled from the line. But Joe, deep down knew why she was sick. She had been out on those stupid solo night patrols, and she'd also been unable to sleep normally, and between the rain and her inability to keep completely warm in it, sickness had swallowed her whole. 

Joe had never felt worse for Hazel. 

Halfway across the world and she was sick as a dog. She couldn't even go and sleep in a warm bed and that's what truly upset Joe about the whole situation.

" I'm sorry you're sick, Parker." Joe said, and he watched Hazel smile despite it all. 

" I just wished I could eat something better than the K-ration, like bread." she said and Joe smiled before glancing at Shifty noticing a smile on his own face. 

So, Hazel was sick and the sickness was relentless for her, which pained many of the men to see. George passed by the foxhole where Hazel attempted to rest and watched as the girl seemed to be in a fit as she slept, coughing and sneezing, unable to lay still for 5 minutes. It was sad to see. But Hazel's attitude towards it was one to reckon with. She still told Catherine she'd be on patrols, she'd be engaged in the defense of roads, battles of towns, anything. 

She wasn't about to let the flu stop her from fighting. 


	57. companions

" How beautiful it is to find someone who asks for nothing more than your company."

_\- Brigitte Nicole_

✰✰✰

Easy stayed in barns usually as they moved closer to Arnhem and the density of towns became thicker and more farms were prominent. Casualties, sickness and disease were what riddled Easy from winning now. 

Bill Guarnere was evacuated, he'd taken a hit from a sniper on a motorcycle he had stolen for a joyride. It was funny at the moment, but now Easy was losing one of the best NCOs. 

Lizzie was still off the line, many of the replacements were taking hits easily. 

Hazel had heard from Babe Heffron that one of his buddies he had trained with, had taken an easy shot on one of the patrols and was dead instantly. Babe was quiet for the rest of the day. 

Morale that remained low was never good for a rather elite and strong-headed company. The company continued to move through the country of Holland with low moral. They continued to run into stalemates with the Germans, and everyone was beginning to grow tired of these blocks in the road. Hazel's sickness was slow in improving because of the battles they had to continue to fight daily, as well as the cold and the lack of sleep and food. 

Hazel had tried to get Winters to send her on the mini night patrols that the others went on, but Winters, even thought one who got a thrill from the fight, was like Catherine said, a human and when someone was sick or hurt, and refused to be pulled from the line, he made sure they weren't worked as hard as they usually were. 

When October came, they had moved on past Nijmegen, which sat on the Waal River and close to the German border and up towards the outskirts of the city of Arnhem. They stayed in the countryside mostly, resting nightly in nearby barns that had been abandoned by the citizens that lived there and towns buildings were provided for the officers. 

Hazel slept fitfully at night and so whenever she began to feel tired, she pretty much laid down where ever there was a surface and passed out. 

This time it happened to be right beside George Luz and his radio on a bit of hay bail, as she curled into a ball, shivering ever so slightly, cold sweat sprinkled across her forehead. 

Joe Liebgott was right next to her though, passed out as well, tiny snores leaving his lips as chatter and K-ration making ensued in the tiny barn. Joe and Hazel, the two peas in a pod they were, were practically inseparable after the events of Nuenen and especially her ongoing sickness which fought her throat like a dragon in a cage. 

So there they were, passed out and exhausted as they snored silently side by side curled in balls like those cats you saw in the window shops on Main Street. 

But Joe, being the person he was, cared for his friends in any way he could. He agreed, he was an asshole, but he was asshole for _specific_ _reasons_ most of the time. But with his friends, that was different. Especially a friend, a best friend at that who was sick and was kept up at night by coughs or a fever or the chills. 

Over the past few weeks, he had been staying closer to Hazel than before, making sure she ate and drank, making sure she slept and was warm and if there was medicine that Gene could provide that she could get some. 

And so sleeping next to her, was another way to make sure that if she started coughing, he was there, to make sure he patted her back, and got her water. But he'd always been that way whenever one of his family members were sick. He was cocky, and admittedly rude sometimes, and he had a crude sense of humor, but family and friends were important and when he cared, he cared; he didn't try to hide that. And many of the men knew that about Joe. When Joe cared about someone, he did everything in his power to make sure they were alright. 

And in this case, it was Hazel. 

Catherine looked up from her cup of water towards Joe and Hazel who were curled up, sound asleep and smiled softly. Catherine truly admired their companionship. 

They were complete opposites, yet they were best friends who understood each other like the backs of their own hands. If Hazel was doing it, Joe probably was as well and where ever the one went, the other followed. And they acted like actual children, but knew when to get serious. And if you messed with either one of them, hell came for them. 

Catherine remembered about a week ago, when Joe had defended Hazel up until the point where he had almost forced Cobb to lose an eye. Hazel had been with Gene, as he was checking her symptoms and everyone else was scattered through multiple barns, similar to the one they were in right now. And Cobb opened his mouth - _of_ _course_. Joe had simply stood up.

" Where you going? Aiding your queen, knight in shining armor?" Cobb called out to Joe with a smirk upon his lips. Joe froze and looked over his shoulder towards Cobb, brown eyes turned black, like an endless pit. 

" Shut the fuck up, Cobb." Joe said, before turning and grabbing a few napkins.

" Why? We all know the way you look at her, Joey." Cobb said and Joe's gaze darkened. 

" Hey, Cobb, ease off." Hoobler said leaning forward.

" No, two can play at this game." Cobb said and Joe bit back his lip with a scowl faced away from the table of soldiers. 

" What's your problem?" Joe muttered as his back tensed, pulling napkins from the makeshift table that was set up. Joe turned, leaning up against the table in front of all the soldiers who were trying their best to stay out of it. Joe crossed his arms and looked expectantly at Cobb at the other side of the table, eyes perked up, wide, and ready to attack like a hawk.

" Please, Roy, do enlighten me." Joe said, putting a toothpick in his teeth and waiting expectantly. 

" Well, Liebgott, you don't just become friends with the shy, quiet girl do ya?" Cobb spat, like it were poison in his mouth. Joe narrowed his eyes.

" She's not like that." Joe said and Catherine slowly sat back, passing a few coins into Bill's grasp. It had been two days before his unlikely joyride.

" Really?" Cobb said as he stood and slowly began walking along the edge of the table, " Then what is she?" Joe stared him down.

" What is she, Joe?" Cobb said, leaning against the back of Joe Toye's chair. Joe moved his chair in. 

" A woman." Joe sneered, watching as Cobb took daunting steps closer.

" Oh, right, I forgot." Cobb said and Catherine swore she saw steam exploding from Joe's ears. 

" Ya done?" snapped Joe.

" Why so tense, buddy? Aren't we just talking about your favorite woman?" Cobb said.

" She's not a fucking object, Cobb." snapped Joe, his voice like ice.

" You're not denying it." Cobb said and Joe's vision sank deep into Cobb's soul. 

He would never deny that Hazel was one of his favorite people.

" Why? You expecting me to?" Joe said, titling his chin up, a small smirk crawling on his face. A prideful one.

" You're just trying to stir unwanted trouble. Sorry I'm not as big of an asshole as you." Joe said and plucked the toothpick from his mouth. Joe stood, but Cobb stopped him, flipping Joe to look at him. Catherine's eyes widened.

" I ain't an asshole, Lieb." Cobb said and Joe narrowed his eyes.

" Don't ever go after Hazel again, you hear me?" snapped Joe, his eyes icy and filled with a flame of anger. 

" Why? You gonna defend her, little knight." Cobb said, " She can't even stand up for herself." That's when Joe's fist collided with his face, knocking Cobb backwards into the side of the barn and people jumped up faster than anything, as chairs clattered to the ground. Bill was yanking Joe back as Chuck was pinning Cobb to the ground, and pointing an angry finger in his face. Catherine looked towards Bill with a winning smirk. 

She'd won. 

Cobb didn't dare say a word to Joe, dare he even mention it to Hazel or someone in her proximity. He'd learned then and there that Joe loyally defended his friends; hell he fought for them. Hazel didn't find out about it though and Joe preferred to keep it that way. He didn't want her to know all that, while she was sick and feeling horrible. 

So, there they slept peacefully. 

Catherine had taken over fully for 2nd platoon in Bill's absence, which he had fully entrusted in her to do when he was being carted away with the bloody bandage around his leg.

" She feeling any better?" Lip asked as he slowly sat down beside Catherine at the table. Catherine glanced back at Hazel, as the girl shifted a bit. Catherine looked back at Lip and tapped her fingers gently against the cup.

" She's still got a nasty fever and a cough too. She's not great, but she's still willing to fight." Catherine said. Lip sighed and nodded.

" How are you doing?" Lip asked her as he turned and leaned against the table.

" Pretty good," she said with a nod.

" Second platoon treating you well?" Catherine smirked and let out a laugh.

" Better than I thought they'd leave me, especially with Bill as leader." Catherine said and the two chuckled softly.

" I've always liked running a small platoon though," Catherine said, " and I know the guys, it's just like my girls back in SPARs. It's a good feeling. And I'm glad to help."

" We're glad to have you down from Battalion. We all know what a great combat leader you are." Lip said and Catherine smiled softly.

" I try, Lip, I really do, especially with having Bill gone." she said and then softly sighed.

" You holding up?" she asked him. Lip gave her a warm smile.

" Best as I'll ever be." Lip said, looking a little tired himself. A small grin formed on Catherine's face. 

" When does Bill think he'll be back?" Lip asked her.

" I won't be surprised if I see him through the door within the next month, he's probably going AWOL from that hospital." Catherine said and Lip grinned.

" Yeah, you're right," Lip said and sighed softly. Catherine softly looked at her cup and padded her fingers against the edges.

" We won't be able to take Berlin by Christmas will we." she said quietly, her voice barely a tremor above it's actual sound. She'd been in the realization of it all for quite some time now. Lip glanced her way as the quiet chatter roamed the room.

" No, probably not." Lip whispered softly. Catherine let out a soft draw of breath and gently nodded, the realization hitting her like a bag of bricks. Remaining positive and being a leader with seemingly no fears had taken a toll, because of the hope that she held up so highly with herself. Now, they faced the realization they they were fighting this war for much longer than they wanted to. Operation Market Garden was just a complete failure by this point, a failure which would cost more lives lost. Just then the door opened and the patrol which consisted of a few replacements walked in, lead by the machine gunners Smokey and Alton.

" Hey, Mack, we're clear." Smokey called throwing her a thumbs up. Catherine received the thumbs up generously before glancing back towards Winters who sat at the tiny table where George was currently sorting his crackers. 

" I'll set the next patrol, try and get some rest." Catherine said glancing back at Lip.

" I will, you do the same when you get back." Lip said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. Catherine gave a small smile, gently placing her hand on Lip's and nodding. 

" I will." she said and Lip nodded with a smile before turning and heading back to where he had previously sat. Catherine turned and looked towards Winters again, who unbeknownst to everyone was surprisingly in his own little world it seemed, focused in on his weapon.

" Hey," Catherine said as she approached him watching as Winters, seemed to snap out of the gaze he was in and look up towards the woman, who's face was smudged with dirt a bit, and sweat collected in certain areas, " the patrol's back. Who do you want to send out?"

" Think you can lead this one, Cath?" Winters asked her, briefly glancing down at his weapon and giving the tape he was using a tug.

" 'Ey, nice Lieutenant." George said from his spot on the ground, a smile on his joyful face. Catherine smirked. 

" Yes, sir." Catherine said, " Anyone you want?"

" Send Alley, Liebgott and Lesniewski. 4 person squad." Winters confirmed with her and she nodded.

" Thank you, sir." Catherine said and with one final smile at George she was moving towards the 3 men to lead on patrol. Catherine hated it but she slowly crouched by Liebgott who slept like a baby at the moment, and gently shook his shoulder.

" Lieb," Catherine said quietly, " hey, Lieb, you gotta wake up." Catherine watched his body shift and then his eyes flutter open, his half open eyes focus on the Lieutenant in front of him.

" Hm?" he asked, shutting his eyes to yawn and stretch a bit.

" You're up for patrol," she said to him.

" You leading?" Liebgott asked her and she nodded with a smirk. Liebgott nodded and then glanced at Hazel who was asleep next to him. Catherine watched his eyes go soft.

" She'll be fine." Catherine promised, " We gotta get moving though."

" Right," Liebgott said and slowly got himself up, pulling his gear on quietly beside the sound asleep Hazel. Catherine wander over to Alley and Tab who were talking together with Trigger at their side. Trigger was the German-shepherd Tab had found earlier in the day, wandering around the little town. Tab had taken a liking to it almost immediately.

" Aw, c'mon, Mack, don't tell me I have to go on this." Alley said as he shoved his cards together. 

" Looks like Moe," Catherine said as Trigger came trotting up to her, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. She slowly crouched down and began scratching the dog's ears.

" Hey, buddy." Catherine said giving the dog a smile as he began licking her face. He knocked her to the ground as she heard Tab chuckle.

" Hey, Trig, c'mon, don't tackle the Lieutenant now." Tab said grabbing hold on the dog gently pulling him back as Catherine laughed, accepting the hand up from Alley.

" He's adorable, Tab, really." Catherine said, giving the dog a gentle rub on his head again. 

" He tries his best to look rather adorable each day." Tab said with a smirk and Catherine just grinned and shook her head.

" C'mon Moe, we got Lesnowski to get up," Catherine said as the two trailed away from the darkened corner and found Joe Lesniewski already awaiting at the door.

" I woke him," Liebgott said as he adjusted his helmet on his head, stifling another yawn.

" Thanks, Joe." she said as she grabbed her helmet from its perch and placed it gently on her head.

" Let's head out." Catherine said and led the trio forward into the darkening night, towards the war. 

When Hazel blinked her eyes open, she was immediately brought back into the immediate ache of her body, not just from sleeping in the same position for too long, but from the soreness the flu gave her joints and her muscles. Then her head had that dull ache behind it, like a bunch of cotton balls were all packed inside it, and there was the soreness of her throat and the runny nose and the dry eyes. It wasn't per say an enjoyable feeling at all. She cracked her tired eyes open a bit more and finally looked over to where Liebgott was and noticed her wasn't there. Hazel slowly sat up, her head swimming, and looked around.

" Hey," a voice said and Hazel looked over to see George turning to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, " they're out on patrol."

" Oh," Hazel said softly, nodding, and then briefly letting out a soft cough.

" Here," George said, handing her the canteen for her to take a sip from and make the dry throat disappear. 

" Thanks George," Hazel said in a gravely voice as she sipped it down.

" How are you feeling?" George asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently rubbing it. It was soothing. For a moment she didn't feel the ache of her joints. 

" Horrible," she said; there, she had admitted it. She felt horrible, but that wouldn't stop her in any sense. She offered George a small smile.

" There's that smile," George said as he watched her smile brighten and her dimple's appear. 

" Yeah, I'm trying, just sucks to feel this way." she admitted to him with a nod.

" Well, 'course it does. But you wanna know what mom did back home?" George said and Hazel nodded, softly sipping the water in the canteen as she grasped it in her fingers.

" She usually would tell stories, you know, once upon a time and all that bullshit, and then she'd try to make my laugh, it's why I'm so funny," George said and Hazel giggled, " and of course, she'd give me all this spicy Portuguese food, cleans out those nasal passages." Hazel sniffled.

" You got any of that spicy food by chance?" Hazel asked with a small smile and George laughed.

" I wish, Tiny, I really do, but I have a few stories." George said and Hazel leaned forward intently. George smirked.

" You wanna hear how my siblings managed to get me tangled up in a chair?" George asked her and Hazel laughed with a nod. But then the laugh turned into a coughing attack and she was coughing, her lungs seizing as George gently patted her back. Once she calmed down she leaned back and looked at George.

" Didn't know I was that funny, kid, you almost died." George said and cracked a smile as Hazel giggled again shaking her head.

" Yeah, George, please don't kill her, we kinda need her." Tab's voice said as he walked over and the two looked up to see the Sergeant and Trigger by his side.

" Aw c'mon I was just about to tell my story." George said as Tab slowly sat down as Hazel reached forward to start petting the dog behind the ears.

" That's fairly vague, George." Tab said as George chuckled, shoving his shoulder. 

" How're you feeling, Tiny?" Tab asked her and Hazel looked over from Trigger with a youthful smile on her face.

" Trigger makes me feel better." she said softly, nuzzling her head into the dog's fur as the dog licked her face. Tab and George glanced at each other as their hearts softened for a moment. There was still some innocence even though the war stripped away more barriers than it ever should've. 

Catherine crouched slowly, her footsteps quiet in the night as the group moved through the short cut grass as they approached the crossroads. Catherine slowly moved her hand up to a held position, and she heard the footfalls behind her stop momentarily.

" What do you see, Lieutenant?" she heard Liebgott ask behind her.

" It's the crossroads," she whispered quietly, as little flecks of rain began pelting down on the group of 4, " I'm assuming there's Germans on the opposite dike. But I can't see." She wished she'd kept the binoculars that both her and Nixon were around her neck. Catherine glanced back at the trio and sighed.

" When we move up, we have to stay quiet alright? Germans could pop out of there at any moment and outflank and then we'll be surrounded." Catherine said, her instructions clear and firm. 

" Yes, ma'am." the quiet confirmation came back from the trio.

" Alright, " she said, " on me." Catherine slowly moved forward the Thompson tightly grasped in her sweaty palms as her feet pushed through the dewy grass forward. The group moved along the side of the dike that sloped on each side as the 4 rods all intersected with one another creating a cross up ahead. 

Catherine had studied the maps back 2 weeks ago when the Lieutenants were first reviewing the maps provided by Colonel Sink. These roads were everywhere, leading from all different places in all different directions and were easy enough to use to outflank another. 

Catherine bit back her lip as they slowly approached the dike. She slowly paused and turned back to the 3 guys, holding them there. Her signals were clear, to wait until she motioned them forward again. Catherine gently approached the dike, her footsteps moving quickly through the grass as she came upon the roads intersection. Her gate slowed and she eventually moved to her stomach in the wet grass, before crawling forward and leaning against the mid pit, bringing her weapon up and aiming it forward. 

Her Thompson only provided about as much sight as that of looking through the bottom of a cup. She could see lights and fires burning on the opposite corner of the dike. Germans. They had set up shop. Catherine bit back her lip; she couldn't even begin to imagine how many were down there. 

A platoon? 

A company? 

A regiment? 

A division? 

Who knew; there were groups of the Germany Army spread out basically everywhere across continental Europe. Catherine sucked in a breath and then blew it out through her lips.

" Ok," she whispered, before glancing back over her shoulder at the awaiting trio. Catherine met Moe's eyes and slowly leaned back and gave quick hand signals, that were the sloppiest she'd seen in a while to them. Moe thankfully understood and turned to the other two and led them forward with ease. Catherine awaited their arrival.

" It looks like there might be a whole company down there," Catherine said meeting each set of eyes that watched her, " we'll have to back to Winters and let him know, see what he wants us to do. HQ's down the road, about 3 miles, I don't know maybe if the Germans have scoped that out and are thinking of moving in that general direction or if they're planning on making a general attack to where we currently are bedding down." Catherine explained, " We've been chasing these guys for 2 weeks, I say it's finally time to put a stab into their plan." She watched the trio nod.

" We'll wait here for a bit, we'll watch for movement, and then we'll head back and tell Winters." Catherine explained.

" Yes, ma'am." the group answered her.

" Alright, Lieb, move up a bit towards the crossroads, Moe, go closest and Joe head to my other side, down aways, we'll spread out along here, and then we'll report movement." she explained and the group nodded, before splitting ways and getting to their general positions. Catherine laid down again in the wet grass and the group stayed quiet, the gentle clicks of their weapons the only sound as they would adjust or move around a bit to get a better position.

" Ow - _fuck_." a voice said rather loudly and quickly, and all heads snapped over to Joe Liebgott, slapping at his neck, a bug. Someone snapped a ' _sh_ ' at him as German voices suddenly entered the picture. Catherine watched in horror, as one of the Germans cried out and a potato masher went sailing through the air. The Germans had been right on the opposite side. Catherine watched it fly through the air.

" MOE!" Catherine yelled watching as he looked up just in time to see it landed right near him. It exploded, sending Alley, back and to the ground, as he fell from the impact and rolled a bite down the dike. That's when Catherine moved and saw Joe, holding his neck, pained groans escaping from his lips as he held onto his neck, blood pooling from where his hand grasped tightly to hold it together. It was descending into chaos.

" Lesniewski, help me!" she called to the other man along the dike and she watched as he pushed up from the side and came hurrying over as Catherine slid down towards Alley.

" Alley, hey, hey, look at me." she said and brushed some hair from his face, " It's okay." Alley watched her with glossy frozen over eyes filled with complete utter fear. He was going into shock. 

" Alley, hey, it's me, it's Catherine, you have to stay awake for me ok?" Catherine said, softly brushing his cheek, " Please stay awake for me." He watched her frozen.

" We need to move, " Catherine said turning to Lesniewski and Liebgott, who was holding the wound that was strung up on his neck, " _now_."


	58. crossroads

" You may see me struggle but you'll never see me quit."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

A few hours passed, as Hazel rested and barely moved from her position, exhausted, and warn out and achy still, with that persistent fever. 

" You want a few crackers?" Luz had asked her, leaning over with bright white crackers. She nodded, and took a few from Luz as she ate them slowly. He passed her, her own canteen, which she sipped from.

" I hate being sick." she mumbled as she bit another cracker. Luz looked over at her with a small smile. 

" You'll get better soon," Luz said with a smile, " I know you." Hazel smiled.

" This is it, boys. Get across the river, across the field and over the dike." 

" That's a lot of territory to cover."

" Where'd you want us to go?" Hashey's voice came in asking Tab and Dukeman where to go. Hazel glanced over as she nibbled on her crackers slowly.

" You Hashey, you get the penthouse." Dukeman said.

" Thank you." Hashey said with exhaustion. 

" We're up top." she heard Hashey say as the trio of men slowly walked away.

" Well, that's a lot of territory to cover." she heard Tab say. 

" A couple of regular GI Joe's, huh?" Dukeman said with a slight laugh.

" You said it." Tab said with a smile. 

" C'mon." Tab said to Trigger before leading him over towards Winters, Hazel and Luz again. Hazel looked up and saw Tab and Trigger and smiled slightly, sniffling, as Trigger came over in between her and Luz and began licking her face again.

" New guys giving the replacements the what for, and why is." Tab said as he sat down close by to Winters. Winters glanced over at him. 

" I swear one of them's never shaved." Tab said, and Hazel smiled watching Luz feed Trigger a cracker.

" Yeah, kids." Winters said. 

" This is a hell of a dog, Tab." Luz said as the dog began licking his hand for another cracker.

" Thank you," Tab said rather proudly, throwing a stick," There you go." 

" What'd you call it, Tab?" Winters asked him, as Luz put the phone on the radio up to his ear again.

" Trigger." Tab said, and Hazel smiled, as Luz handed Hazel another cracker which she ate gratefully. 

" That's good, I like that, Trigger." Luz said looking towards the two.

" Got anything on this?" Tab asked Luz, looking towards the radio. 

" No, it's all quiet." Luz said, as Hazel sighed, leaning back again. Suddenly, the doors nearby burst open, and Trigger barked. Hazel's head whipped over as Liebgott's voice was the first she heard.

" We've got penetration!" Liebgott yelled, as Tab, Winters and Luz shot up. 

" Alley's hurt, we need the Doc." Liebgott said, as Hazel shifted a bit, not able to stand up as she watched Alley, in Liebgott's and a few others arms, bloodied and half conscious.

" Alright, get him on the table!" Winters yelled.

" It's Alley?"

" Yeah, it's Alley!" Hazel watched as Lipton jumped down from his perch. Hazel watched with worrisome eyes. Chaos rung out in front of Hazel as the group of men maneuvered Alley onto the table. Hazel slowly stood to her feet, as Trigger started barking a bit louder and she got a grip on his fur to hold him back. Hazel watched, standing a bit further back from the table as people called out to each other. 

" Alley, you're gonna be ok." Winters said, " Boyle, get Doc Roe."

" Where am I?" Alley asked, as people surrounded the table. Hazel noticed Catherine, standing next to Liebgott, with blood covering her hands, hair falling from its ponytail, exhausted. 

" Something happened, what happened?" Alley pleaded, as Lip hovered over him. Catherine hurried around to Alley's face next to Lip and gently brushed at his hair looking down on him with sad eyes.

" You'll be ok." she said softly, as he stared up at her. 

" Where was it?" Winters asked.

" Crossroads, where the road crosses the dike." Liebgott answered. 

" If it wasn't for your loud mouth, they'd have never known we was there." Lesniewski snapped, as Hazel stepped closer with Trigger who was panting, watching as Liebgott put a cloth to an evident wound on his neck. Hazel's eyes turned worried, as she watched the blood on his neck, splashed up in a speckled pattern across the underside of his chin.

" Hey, you know what, Joe, back off." Liebgott snapped back. Hazel's eyes saddened watching him from far away.

" Lesniewski, send a runner for Lieutenant Welsh." Winters called to him.

" Lipton, assemble me a squad." Winters told Lip quickly.

" Yes, sir, first squad, on your feet!" Lip yelled, " Weapons and ammo only!" People turned immediately from Alley, just as Gene came running in, his helmet shoved on his head, with exhausted eyes, and his bag slapping, looking rather thin, at his thighs.

" Give me room!" Gene called as he hurried over and Hazel stepped closer up on Alley's side, peering down at him, as Catherine moved quickly away from Alley's side to pick up her weapon again, and move out with 2nd platoon's 1st squad. Alley's eyes were wide and glossed over with fear, as the blood colored his face like a painting. His lips quivered, as he stared at the ceiling, the bright light above them, seeming to barely be a bother to him. Hazel's heart broke for him. 

" Boyle, get his boots off, elevate the leg. Liebgott use the sulphur." Gene ordered. Hazel felt her stomach twirl at the site of the blood, as she glanced towards Gene who was working near Alley's head to make sure he was still awake.

" Alright, let's get this done quickly, we gotta move, not too much. Hey Alley." Gene said in a rush of words. Hazel watched, as once Boyle adjusted Alley's feet, he moved away to get his weapon, and follow 1st squad. Hazel was watching helplessly as Liebgott met her eyes, holding the cloth to his wound. 

" I gotta go, Doc." Liebgott said, as he flipped the sulphur to the ground.

" You sure you don't want that thing on your neck checked out first?" Gene called to him as he brushed some of the blood from Alley's face with a soft hand.

" Nah, Doc, I'm fine. I gotta hook up with 2nd." Liebgott said. 

" I'll go with you." Hazel said, as Liebgott and Gene looked to her.

" No fucking way, Tiny." Liebgott said, as he grabbed his helmet, and pushed it to his head. 

" I can go and help, I'm fine." Hazel protested letting go of Trigger, to grab her helmet and rifle which was nearby. Her muscles ached as she leaned down and grabbed her weapon, but she pushed it out of her mind. Liebgott watched the visible grimace her body gave off, and Liebgott had never wanted more in that moment to tuck her into a nice warm bed and actually give her a place to get better in.

" No, you're sick." Liebgott told her watching as she shouldered her weapon and then put on her helmet, looking at him with flushed checks and fever filled eyes. 

" Lieb, I'm fine." she said looking at him, with a hard stare. Liebgott went to protest as he watched the girl look up at him with quiet determination.

" You're not going, Hazel, you're sick." Liebgott told her, worry in his voice as he said it with force.

" Joe, I'm fine." Hazel said, looking up at his worry-filled eyes.

" You're sick, Hazel," Joe said to her, his eyes searching hers.

" I'll be okay." she said softly. Hazel's eyes went to the wound on his neck. It looked worse.

" Lieb, your neck." she whispered, as the blood came around the bandage.

" I'm fine, you're not, you need to rest." Liebgott told her.

" I'm coming with you." Hazel told him, eyes looking into his determined. Liebgott couldn't fight her.

" Let's go." Hazel said, as she walked past Liebgott, who glanced towards Gene in defeat. Gene merely shrugged to him, before Liebgott turned and followed after the girl to meet up with the mass of 1st squad.

" Hazel, you're sick." Liebgott said once they were outside of the barn and in the darkness as a gentle rain slowly pattered down. 

" I want to fight." Hazel said looking up at him. Liebgott looked over at her as she bit her lip to herself, looking even more flushed in the face. When the two late arrivals showed up where the rest of 1st squad was about to head out, Winters noticed Hazel making her way over. He immediately walked over to her with a raised brow, as Catherine noticed Hazel there as well.

" What are you doing, Hazel? You're sick." Winters said looking down at her. 

" I want to fight, sir, I'm your only sniper." she said with a nod looking at him.

" I don't want you getting sicker." Winters protested.

" I'm fine, sir, I promise." Hazel answered, she didn't want sickness to stop her. Winters looked down at her in the darkness. She looked really sick, but he wouldn't hold back at soldier who was willing to fight.

" Alright, let's move out!" Winters called over the group, as 1st squad assembled quickly and began moving together. Catherine moved up to Hazel's side, with her bloody hands, exhausted eyes, and dirt covered face, with her Thompson secured in her fingers.

" Are you sure you're ok, Hazel?" Catherine asked her, as more droplets of light rain came down on them.

" I'll be fine, Mack, promise." Hazel said with a convincing nod. Catherine nodded, yet her worry, she knew, would not back down for the girl. 

The squad was led by Winters and Talbert towards the crossroads checkpoint. Every man and woman in the squad remained quiet, crouched, and cautious as they moved towards the checkpoint through the hedgerows. Hazel took quiet steps, as she remained near the front with Winters, Tab, and Luz. Winters had wanted her up front with him as they approached the check point because he wanted to make sure he could keep an eye on her if she started feeling worse. Hazel's eyes though, remained as alert as they could be through the feverish ways she felt, and her focus on the tiny things remained sharp. When she had been sick as a teen, after her father had left, she would have to work through the sickness, for her mother's sake. Hazel didn't want her mother to have to worry about her in all the chaos of their life, when her mother had enough on her plate as a single woman raising Hazel. 

Hazel, in a way, felt more so immune to it all. 

Hazel glanced back towards the squad that moved cautiously through the Holland hedgerows, and caught Catherine's eye; Catherine delivered with a quiet nod. When Hazel glanced forward again, a rapid spit-fire of gunshots rang out quickly, and Hazel slammed herself, more like tripped over her foot, to the ground, and looked up slowly from the cold, muddy ground through the dewy grass towards Winters and Tab. Her head gave a dull pound and she gritted her teeth.

" MG-42?" she heard Tab ask WInters from her position curled up next to Luz. 

" Yeah." Winters answered.

" What the hell are they shootin' at?" Tab asked, " What's down that road?"

" Regimental headquarters." Winters answered, " But that's three miles away. Why are they giving away their position?"

" They ain't as smart as me and you?" Tab asked, and Hazel chuckled to herself. Gunfire continued to ring out ahead of them as Catherine slowly moved through the multiple men to Winters and Tab.

" I think I'll check it out anyway." Winters said, " Hold here, wait for my signal." 

" Yes, sir." Tab answered. Winters watched as Catherine slowly crouched next to Tab and looked towards Winters.

" McCown," Winters said as she nodded, " when I reach the top, I'll turn to you for a signal, and you'll follow me up. I'll meet you up there."

" Yes, sir." Catherine answered with a nod. Catherine watched from next to Tab as Winters looked up and then slowly got to his feet and went up the side of the hill towards the top.

" Holding here, I'm waitin' for a signal, Mack's following Winters' up." Tab told Luz who nodded. Luz turned and quickly translated in hand signals to the men and woman behind him. Catherine and Tab watched as Winters slowly made his way to the top, jumping over the top as a slew of gunshots rang out. Winters turned and signaled to Catherine. Catherine nodded, as Tab, ever the gentlemen, helped her over the hump to get to high ground. 

" Good luck," Tab told her as she offered him a warm smile, and followed after Winters as her heart pounded in her chest. Catherine quickly moved to the top and flipped over the side in next to Winters in the dirt, before the two slid down the side, near the road. 

Catherine flipped to her back, as did Winters next to her. He glanced over her tiny frame towards the road head where gunshots had previously come from. Then he nodded to her and the two quickly stood, crouched and hurried over to the opposite side of the road. Catherine slid down first, and Winters slid in behind her, glancing over her helmet and shoulder toward the end of the road. 

Another round of gunshots rang out from the road head as Catherine heard Winters' breath in her ear. Her and Winters both glanced down at the hedgerows, which they silently agreed would be good enough for the squad to come over to.

" Stay here," Winters told her.

" Yes, sir." she said, as the two glanced down the road. Catherine watched as Winters ran back across the road and then up the side of the tiny hill, before landing on his stomach. Hazel watched as Tab absorbed the signals from Winters at the top of the hill. They were in the clear. Tab nodded, before turning to the group. The group waited as gunshots shot out before a hand waved them forward. 

Hazel quickly stood, and followed up next to Luz towards the top of the hill. She was sweating cold sweat; she could feel it. Once she reached the top, Luz looked over and saw her, paler than ever in the moonlight, and gladly helped her over the hedge before they slid down the other side, stopping at the road, as heads and eyes glanced towards the end. Tab gave the signal and the group moved across the road to the other side where Catherine and now Winters awaited. Catherine gave a go to the two machine gunners who raced down a few yards before setting up their gun towards the road block. The rest of the squad rolled down into the squad that Winters had designated for them. 

Each man and woman filed in side by side, slamming into the Earth and the dirt, before another round of gunfire went off, and all heads shifted towards the sound. Now, a few German voices could be heard from the area.

" This is our fallback position, here." Winters stated, as he pointed to the general vicinity. 

" Mortars, deploy here! Sniper, move with the radio." Winters called to the one mortar squad or Skip, Penkala and Malarkey that had joined them and Hazel who nodded, " First squad on me!"

" Go!" Winters called, as he turned and took off down the hedgerow.

Luz tapped Hazel's shoulder and she quickly joined him as they moved down the back, perpendicular to the hedge Winters went down with 1st squad. Mortar squad set up their positions close by as Luz and Hazel continued a bit further down. Luz then stopped and turned to Hazel and she nodded. Luz slammed to the ground and Hazel moved in next to him, setting up her scope so her view was that of the men moving into their positions and the machine gunners and the Germans. Hazel squinted as she looked through the scope, fixing her scope to a deeper and clearer vision. Hazel watched through her scope as Winters halted the squad that was moving, as the German voices were louder and clearer. She could see clearly through her scope as Winters climbed up the dike towards the road. She had him in her vision clearly. The rain came down a bit harder, but not to the point where it was overkill. Hazel could clearly see there were Germans walking around near the top, talking, acting as if there wasn't a squad of American paratroopers down in the hedgerow. They continued to fire shots, and Hazel could see that clearly. Hazel watched as Winters turned and signaled to the squad below in the nearest hedgerow. 

Catherine sat beside Tab, as he raised his arm to move people forward. Tab nodded to Catherine and the two moved like clockwork next to each other as they moved up the dike, the rest of the squad following, slowly and cautiously. The squad reached the dip in the road, and slid in securely in varied positions, weapons aimed toward the Germans. Catherine slid into a spot, and Tab moved in next to her as the two careful set up their weapons, quickly and quietly.

" Second on the left." Winters came over and whispered to Tab.

" Third on the left." Winters told Catherine and she nodded, before setting up comfortably and aiming towards the man in her sight. She followed him with her eye as he moved around, walking and talking and jabbing about his day it seemed.

" Wait for my signal." Winters told the group quietly, as more gunshots rang out. Another German voice called out roughly, as Catherine squinted her eye. Winters set up not far from Tab and Catherine. Everyone seemed concentrated on the man they had to keep their eye on, as Catherine made adjustments to her position. Then suddenly Winters shot his weapon and a loud bang echoed out. Then everyone else's shots followed, as well as German screams and yells. Shots continued to fire out from Catherine's Thompson as she continued shooting her weapon with accuracy, taking down man after man. 

" Fall back!" Winters called, as Catherine took another shot towards the Germans, filled with anger. The minute he said that a mortar round went off. Catherine felt Tab's hand on her shoulder as he pulled her back from her zone she worked herself into, and she nodded to him as she slid back down the road and the dike toward the fall back area. That's when the machine gun opened up. 

Mortar rounds continued to shoot off, as Catherine jumped into the hedgerow behind Tab and quickly followed him towards the fallback position. Then she heard a loud, ear, piercing gun shot, and knew it was Hazel from her position with Luz. Shots from the Germans came firing back at the retreating first squad. Catherine turned down where Hazel and Luz were and slammed against the dirt as she set up her weapon, to fire back at the Krauts. Catherine watched as she opened up on her shots, as the machine gunners fell back as well.

" Suppressing fire!" Winters continued to yell, as he neared Luz and Hazel near the end of the line. He slammed in next to Luz who was on the phone with Welsh.

" Harry, tell Peacock to bring up the balance of 1st platoon on the double!" Winters yelled through the phone as Luz glanced towards him. " And another machine-gun squad, over!"

" Dukeman!" Winters yelled. Hazel glanced over from her sniper as Dukeman ran over to Winters.

" Go get that machine-gun on the right flank, go!" Winters yelled, " Christenson!" Hazel turned back to her scope as an explosion set off.

" Fuck, Dukeman's down!" someone yelled, as Luz moved his own rifle into position and began firing back. They had no medic; he would die. 

The gunfire from both sides slowly seized and it came to a bland stalemate. Hazel couldn't stop coughing or sneezing, which she wasn't entirely too pleased about in the slightest, simply because she knew the Germans could hear it. Hazel was hunkered down next to Luz in the dark, after the shooting had stopped, with multiple blankets over top of her, attempting to keep her warm as she worked out a fever. She had never been more miserable as she lay there, the rain coming down rather heavily by this point, freezing and sick as a dog. 

Catherine, who was doing rounds with Tab now, would check on her constantly, her worry for the girl constant at this point. Eventually Luz removed his battery, and let the girl snuggle against him for warmth, as she hacked and sneezed and coughed away. But Luz, who grew up with an abundance of siblings, was used to it whenever his siblings would get sick, so having the young girl cuddled against him wasn't any different than one of his younger sisters. Hazel eventually fell asleep, when Catherine came by on her 5th check with Tab. Hazel was snoring, mainly because of her stuffed up nose, but otherwise warm, and fast asleep.

" If she wakes up and says she feels bad, you'll let me know, right Luz?" Catherine asked Luz as she stood in the rainy moonlight.

" Of course, I'll call you over." Luz said with a smile. Catherine nodded before turning and following through with Tab on rounds. Tab looked toward Catherine who looked rather troubled at the current moment.

" You ok?" Tab asked her as he stepped past Perconte and Cobb. " Lieutenant?"

" It's Hazel," Catherine said as she bit her lip, " she worries me sometimes what she throws herself into. She's sick as a dog." Tab looked at Catherine who seemed rather distraught about the entire thing, fiddling with the loose piece of fabric on her Thompson every so often.

" She'll be ok, Mack. You know that." Tab said looking at Catherine. Catherine nodded, seemingly trying to convince herself.

" Yeah, she'll be fine; she has Luz." Catherine said with a nod, eyes sad and unfocused.

" I don't know, Tab, she's like a little sister to me, I'd hate to see her get so sick simply because she was out here fighting when she could've been back with Gene." Catherine said. 

" Have you seen her? Sickness seems to be the least worrisome thing on that girl's mind." Tab said and Catherine offered a tiny smile.

" You're right." Catherine said, " Just seeing her sick, it just sucks, you know? Seeing people you love, sick?" Tab nodded.

" Yeah, I know what you mean." Tab said, as the rain pelted the tiny droplets of water against the dirty ODs, sending shivers down their spines.

" I'm just tired of all this, Tab. I'm real tired." Catherine said. Holland was hell, everything about it was absolute hell. Tab gently placed a hand on her back and left it there as they walked.

" Me, too, Mack." he said with a nod, " Me too." 


	59. the attack on crossorads

" Some memories never leave your bones. Like salt in the sea; they become part of you. And you carry them." 

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Hazel awoke at about 3 in the morning, groggy and aching against a body form. She glanced up and saw Luz, fast asleep, next to her, and sighed a bit to herself. She sucked in the air to fast and exploded in a coughing attack, waking Luz up from his sleep. He looked over at the girl, hacking and gently patted her back as she came out of her, her lungs pleading for reprieve. 

" I'm sorry George." she moaned out, before tiredly falling down again covered in blankets against him for warmth, letting out a rough sigh, that crackled in her lungs.

" It's alright, kid, you're not feeling good." he said rubbing her back. 

" This sucks." she muttered, rubbing her eyes and sighing. She still felt feverish; as she moved around she could most definitely tell because her head swam as she looked around, her head hurt, and so did her eyes. Hazel could tell from her spot that it was Catherine and Tab still doing rounds even at this early in the morning. 

Along with Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye, Tab and Catherine always were looking out for every person in the company, no matter if they were a vet or some replacement, they always were putting the men and women before themselves even if it meant their sleep, health or their life were at risk. Hazel respected them a lot. That's when all the sudden, she saw a figure coming towards her, crouched low with his helmet side ways and a bandage visible around his neck. It was Liebgott. He slowly came to Hazel's other side and collapsed next to her as she glanced towards him.

" Hey, Lieb." she said as he shot her a smile in the dark, " What's up?"

" Wanted to check on you, see how you were feeling with that fucking cold. I figured you were asleep." Liebgott said.

" Well, I can't fall asleep, and I'm hacking up a lung." Hazel said, before letting out a sneeze. 

" Bless you." Liebgott said as he dug into his pocket for something. Hazel watched curiously, saying quick thank you as she watched.

" I know it may not help with the whole sickness thing, but I think it may brighten your mood," Liebgott said as he pulled out a Hershey's chocolate bar. Hazel's eyes widened as she stared at the chocolate in his hands. She hadn't had chocolate, much less Hershey's chocolate in what felt like forever. Liebgott smirked at her expression as he tore open the wrapper for her. 

" Lieb, you're giving me a Hershey bar?" she whispered as he gave her the chocolate bar, with a nod.

" You're my best friend, of course I'd give you my Hershey bar, now taste it." he said and she smiled as she slowly bit into it. 

Suddenly, she was transported back to times when she would eat this with her mother as they sat on the porch out the back of their tiny home, overlooking the mountains and sunset, with their tea in one hand, Hershey's chocolate bars in the other. Or when she would be leaving school, and the one boy that was a year younger and had shyly handed her the Hershey bar after leaving their Biology class one day, saying a quick phrase she couldn't quite remember as she did so. She had eaten the whole thing. Now, sitting here with the Hershey bar, she knew she'd remember it for years to come whenever she bit into one. She savored the bite before glancing at Liebgott who was smiling at her. She quickly went to hand it back but Liebgott shook his head. 

" Keep it, Tiny," Liebgott said with a nod. 

" Are you sure? I mean it's yours." she said, and Liebgott nodded.

" You need it more than me." he said gently. Hazel smiled slightly and nodded, as she laid back against the cool ground and slowly ate away at it, gently nibbling at the edges and savoring the chocolatey taste. She managed to catch a few more hours of rest after that. 

The next time she awoke, she felt a little bit of warmth on her face, and she opened her eyes to slightly grey, pale skies, where a bit of sunshine was coming through, down onto the soldiers. She moved around a bit and saw that next to her, George was up, and drinking and attempting to eat a K-ration, and she noticed Liebgott was talking, but she couldn't hear a thing. She yawned, and suddenly her ear crackled, and a bit of noise came through. When she got sick, her ears would get stuffed up and crackle for a week afterwards, simply because the sickness was trying to get out.

" Hey, Tiny, you're awake." George said as she sat up and yawned again, her sniper shifting against her as she did so.

" Don't feel it." she mumbled out, as she blinked a few times to get her bearings. The two men laughed at her comment, as she saw a figure making their way over to her. She opened her eyes and shot awake when she saw it was Gene.

" What are you doing here?" she asked immediately, sitting up and staring at her surprised. Gene crouched down with a tiny smile.

" Winters wanted the balance of first platoon to come up, I insisted on going for medicinal reasons, so I joined with Peacock and now I'm here." Gene said with a smile. " And to make sure you are alright." 

" I'm fine." Hazel countered with a nod, and Gene raised his brow at her, his face dirty and smudged and a bit sweaty.

" Let me at least take your temp." Gene said as he pulled out a thermometer and gently stuck it under Hazel's tongue. Hazel stared coldly at the thermometer hoping that it would keep it under 100 degrees. The thermometer beeped and Gene pulled it out and sighed.

" 102.1, Hazel." Gene said and Hazel slumped back with a sigh.

" I hate being sick." Hazel groaned out, as Gene slowly stood and wiped off the thermometer before pulling out a canteen. 

" Try drinking more water, you're flushed, and plus if you drink more water it'll help get that virus out of your system faster." Gene said as Hazel took the canteen and took big gulps from it.

" Where's Mack?" Hazel asked.

" Her and Tab are heading over to Winters right now to get the plan of attack." Gene said, as Hazel slowly shifted up and a bit to look towards Winters who was laying on his stomach, writing things down, observing quietly, as two figures approaching him with an army crawl. Catherine army crawled beside Tab up to Winters.

" Sir, the balance of 1st platoon are here. Gordon and More brought another 30 cal." Tab said. Winter stayed quiet. 

" Sir." Tab said, as Winters continued to remain quiet, still surveying the land it seemed. Tab and Catherine glanced at each other as Winters finally spoke.

" They're behind a solid roadway embankment. We're in a ditch. They can outflank us along the dike, and catch us out here as soon as they figure that out." Winters stated.

" So, how many Krauts are we talking about?" Tab asked Winters.

" Well, there's a ferry crossing here," Winters said as Tab and Catherine looked to the map," So it could be a whole battalion as far as I know." Tab and Catherine nodded.

" Sir," Catherine said and Winters glanced at her.

" Did you want to send Hazel up, towards the dike on look out? You know she can take out at least 6 in a row, rapid fire." Catherine said. Winters looked to Catherine, who he knew was thinking hard about the entire situation and for the well being of the company. 

" Yeah, we'll send her up, so she's not exactly up front with the action." Winters said with a nod. Catherine nodded.

" Okay, what are your orders?" Tab asked. Winters folded up his map and glanced towards the dike again, putting away his map.

" We got no choice." Winters said, before looking at the two and nodded. Tab and Catherine immediately scrunched back away and turned army crawling back towards the company. Winters got Peacock, Tab, and Catherine all situated near Luz and his radio as he gave out orders. 

" Ok, here it is, Talbert you'll take 10 men along the dike, just a little bit past Hazel." Winters explained as Tab passed the canteen to Catherine, who took a sip, before handing it to Peacock.

" McCown, you'll move the remainder of first squad up the inner right flank, closest to the dike." Catherine nodded. 

" Peacock, you'll take 10 men along the left flank." Winters told the man who sipped the canteen and nodded.

" I'll take 10 up the middle, so follow me." Winters stated, as the leaders all nodded in confirmation to each other. 

" Questions?" Winters asked. No one answered.

" Go." Winters said, and Catherine turned and hurried off toward the balance of 1st squads remains. Tab followed after to her to get to his 10 men near the dike. 

" Hazel!" Winters called out in a quiet whisper, that was not disruptive but could be heard. Hazel stood at the call of her name and went bounding toward Winters, gracefully sitting in across from him in the hedgerow. 

" Yes, sir?" she asked.

" I'm sending you with your sniper up onto the dike, you'll be near Tab's side, but I know that if they try to outflank us, that you can shoot off some rounds." Winters explained to her. She nodded.

" Yes, sir." she said.

" Move out now, when you start hearing shots fire, you're free to open up." Winters explained and she nodded, before turning and moving back to the hedgerow quickly. 

Hazel kept a good pace as she moved perpendicular to the solders in the opposite hedgerow, knowing eyes were on her. She carefully made her way up the decent of the hedgerow, before moving onto the dike, just a bit, with her weapon and setting it up, as she lay on her stomach. Her sniper sat situated in a covert position, hidden by grass and shrubs, peaking through leaves and some dirt, ready for the kill. Her sniper was dirty, covered in grease, dirt, grass, rain and sweat, and the trigger was a bit sticky she felt, but she knew it still worked. 

Hazel adjusted herself and her slightly swimming, feverish head, and adjusted her scope a few times before she felt it was set in place. She glanced over her shoulder toward the group of soldiers down in the hedgerow waiting to go on a signal. She watched though, as the slight movement she did see was the soldiers putting bayonets on their weapons. She glanced back towards her position and where she was aimed, getting a clear shot, before looking back over her shoulder. She watched Winters stand and throw what seemed to be some sort of smoke grenade out in front of him before grabbing his weapon and running forward, with no other men moving. She raised a brow confused, what part of the plan was this? She watched Winters continue to run forward, as smoke exploded and shot out of the grenade behind him. She continued to watch as Winters sprinted forward, the only man still out there, sprinting.

" What are they waiting for?" she whispered to herself in the dirt pit. Suddenly the smoke turned red, and the paratroopers quickly stood and began racing full force forward following Winters over 100 yards behind him at least. 

The red smoke covered the oncoming soldiers, as Winters remained in the lead, and she noticed the first few paratroopers appearing out of the red smoke. Hazel quickly turned herself away and toward her weapon, waiting for the shot she was supposed to hear. She waited for the sound that could let her open up on anyone she saw. Suddenly, she did. She heard the loud, singular shot echo out, and she adjusted her scope, setting her weapon straight, and ready to fire. She continued to hear Winters' shot after shot echo from her weapon and she was waited to shoot at retreating Germans. 

Shots fired back, she could hear it, from the Germans side, back at Winters, and her heart began racing. She glanced over worriedly, but in that moment she watched as the men from Easy, came up the side of the dike, moving in next to Winters and began firing back, along side him. It was chaos from both sides as she began to hear Easy's shot shooting at the Germans. She watched in horror through her scope for retreating Germans as she saw a whole other Germany company coming over the dike from the other side. Hazel immediately adjusted and cranked at her sniper.

" Guard me through war, God, guide me towards light and lead me forward." she whispered, as her finger danced on the trigger, before opening up and firing a shot forward. Her first shot killed two people as it went through one person and out the other side. She could see through her scope the confusion on the Germans side as to they couldn't figure out where the shot had initially come from. 

So she cranked her sniper again, and, a small prayer leaving her lips, then took another shot at someone who was directing people forward and over the dike. They fell and more chaos broke out through the ranks of the German platoon. She heard in her left ear as the machine gun began firing off. Hazel remained focus, in her own mind, as she continually took quiet, deathly shots, whispered prayers leaving her lips with each death she ultimately created. This time when her sniper bucked back at bit at how many shots, she didn't freeze up and cause her self to go unfocused or injured. She readjusted quickly and continued her quiet, deadly shots and her gentle prayers, that surprised the most unsuspecting. 

Hazel watched as the mass of the company that had come over the dike disappeared and went backwards or ran down into the valley. Hazel quickly moved backwards, and moved up onto the road on the dike and quickly hurried up the road a bit, almost like a flanking maneuver as the men from Easy were perpendicular to her, and she was visible in everyone's line of sight in the way she could shoot Germans and they'd be unsuspecting. Hazel was able to get shots on the Germans who were out of the range for the M-1s or the carbines, and she was easily able to kill more with rapid fire and quick death shots. Her mind went some place else, and it scared her because the only thing she thought was that she had to kill these people, as many as she could. 

Hazel sucked down that fear though as she continued to fire off shot after shot, over and over again, doing mini reloads in between each. She moved the end of her sniper towards the general direction of that of the closer Germans who were injured but still trying to get away. She watched a few Germans become captured, and yelling ensue. Hazel continued shots on the Germans, stopping to reload. 

Then suddenly the whole ground shock and she stopped, pushing her helmet from her eyes to look towards where she had previously been firing. 

Artillery opened up along the entire line where Germans had previously been. Hazel watched with wide horrified eyes, as the explosions of massive fire power came closer with each explosion. The artillery continued on her right, and then suddenly rounds fell to her left and her head immediately whipped to the side quickly as she watched that happen. Debris sprinkled her from both sides as she curled into a ball, holding her helmet to her head, praying that the artillery rounds wound stop so she could stand up and move.

" Easy Company, take cover!" Winters voice could be heard, as Hazel couldn't move, surrounded by the onslaught that was called artillery. She couldn't move as the barrage happened, surrounded by exploding artillery shells, and the sounds of explosions as well as debris and dirt, the ground shaking with each tremor that hit it. 

They were loud and terrifying, and all Hazel could remember was the explosions on D-Day, when she'd been along, up against a tree, praying for the loud sounds to stop. Each explosion struck somewhere in her core, as her body laid against her sniper, curled for protection, going into its natural instinct of curling into a ball, cowering in fear. The barrage slowly ended with little spitfires of artillery ending the shower of the shells. Hazel didn't move; she lay absolutely frozen still up on the dike. She didn't want to move, but suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped, eyes flying open looking toward the person. It was Winters.

" Hazel, are you alright?" he asked her. Hazel couldn't speak as she looked up at Winters with wide, frozen and fearful eyes. 

" Hazel." he asked gently shaking her to make her come out of it. Hazel blinked a few times and looked towards Winters again.

" Sir." she said quietly, looking around for her weapon which was hidden against her. 

" Let me help you stand." he said, slowly getting to his feet and holding out a hand to her. Hazel gently took it, and Winters helped her tiny figure to her feet. She took in a shuddering breath as she gripped her weapon tightly in her hands.

" You alright?" Winters asked her and she nodded. 

" Yes, sir." she said, as Winters nodded and the two began walking back down the short bit of perpendicular road to where the rest of Easy awaited.

" Sir, it was like D-Day," Hazel said, shaking her head and letting out a sigh. Winters looked over at her. 

" I didn't want to move." Hazel said, moving her helmet up from her eyes. She sighed to herself and rubbed a hand on her face. Winters nodded, listening to her, before Peacock came running up to the two.

" Sir," Peacock said, and Winters nodded going to follow. 

" Check with Doc, Hazel, make sure you don't have shrapnel in you." Winters said and Hazel nodded. Hazel slowly walked forward and sucked in a shaky breath. Then there was a few rounds of singular gun shots that rang out, round after round. 

She saw it was Liebgott. 

Hazel stopped up along the dike as she watched Joe continue to shoot out at downed Germans, or injured ones over and over. She stopped, watching helplessly up along the dike, as Winters made his way over to him. Winters started talking to him, their voices fairly loud, but not loud enough that she could hear them. Winters looked at Joe's neck wound, and Joe shoved it off. 

Hazel watched Joe come up the dike, her eyes softly resting on him. Joe met her eyes from across the large area. Hazel bit her lip and then slowly approached Joe who stood, seemingly waiting to rip off someone's head. Joe didn't scare Hazel, whether he was happy, whether he was sad, whether he was upset. She never feared a friend. She never feared someone she trusted, but sometimes they broke your heart in the end. 

And that's where Hazel was careful. 

But Joe, Joe she trusted deeply. 

Hazel looked up at him, as he tried to contain himself, contain the anger that seemed to want to spill past every inch of him. Hazel slowly reached forward and gently pushed up the brim of his helmet from his eyes. Joe felt his eyes close at the soft touch. When he opened his eyes next, Hazel's soft eyes were watching his. Her eyes then went to his neck. She slowly reached to his wound and gently touched the skin on his neck. He flinched.

" Make sure you get that checked out, Joe." Hazel whispered softly. Joe looked at her and forcefully nodded. He was angry, so angry. Hazel knew that physical touch calmed Joe more than anything; it was something his mother had always done from what he had told her about Mrs. Liebgott. Liebgott had told Hazel that his mother would always try to hug him, brush her hands through his hair or scuff it up to annoy him, gently pat his shoulder, give him a rub on the back. 

So Hazel slowly reached forward and adjusted his collar and the part of his ODs which buttoned up on the front. Joe watched his friend, her gentle eyes remaining so focused even after the chaos of the battle they'd just gone through, the little bit of her tongue poking out from her lips as she remained focused on adjusting the front of his ODs, her freckles more prominent from the constant sun she had been getting, the way her blue eyes flitted about. Joe slowly reached up and wrapped his hands around Hazel's, causing her to look up towards him slowly. Joe let out a shaky breath, attempting to calm himself. 

Hazel always calmed him down, even if she didn't know it. 

Joe then didn't hesitate to slowly wrap his arms in a trembling hug around her neck and pull her into his arms. Hazel slowly hugged him back, pulling him close, holding him there. Sometimes the boys needed to be held, it was human nature.

" Take these to Battalion." Nixon said as he arrived. " Split 'em up."

" Yes, sir." came the response. Nixon slowly came upon the wounded, searching for Winters or Catherine.

" We had 'em on the run." he heard a voice say and turned to hear it was Peacock, with Catherine looking weary by his side.

" How's that?" Nixon asked.

" The Germans were flooding back towards the ferry crossing when we hit 'em with artillery. It was like a turkey shoot." Peacock said, as Nixon walked around past Peacock. 

" Then they hit us with their 88s, zeroed in on this crossroad." Peacock explained following after Nixon as Catherine followed quietly after.

" Now we were lucky, though." Peacock said as Nixon looked back, " Only 22 wounded." Catherine raised a brow. Nixon smirked sarcastically.

" Lucky?" he asked.

" Captain Winters?" Nixon asked Peacock. 

" He's right down there, sir." Peacock said pointing down the dike toward another road.

" Alright, carry on. I'll be back Catherine, then we'll go over some things." Nixon said and Catherine nodded quietly. Catherine turned to Peacock.

" Have you seen, Hazel?" she asked him. Peacock looked past her shoulder and pointed.

" She was over with Tab, supposedly a bit of shrapnel sliced her nothing major. It was in her shoulder that Doc Roe was wrapping." Peacock explained.

" Thanks." Catherine said before turning and making her way over to the woman.

" Hazel," Catherine called as she approached the girl who was looking rather pissy at the moment. Between being sick and having shrapnel in her she was just a ball of sunshine. 

" Tab, I'm fine." Hazel said, shoving the man from her tied up shoulder.

" Hazel," Catherine said as she approached the duo.

" Oh, hey, Catherine." Hazel said, glaring at Tab who smirked shaking his head.

" I heard you were hit with shrapnel, you ok?" Catherine asked her, crouching down. Hazel smiled, a tiny smile and nodded.

" Yeah, I'm fine, I'll be fine. It was the smallest thing and it was a tiny scratch that Doc wanted to look at." she said with a nod again. Catherine nodded and glanced towards a pit of coffee that seemed to be brewing.

" That coffee?" Catherine asked Hazel, and Hazel smiled.

" Yeah." she answered, " It's good, Gene brought me some." 

" Fuck yeah." Catherine said as she stood and removed her helmet as she walked over to the coffee. She watched as Gene scooped in a cup and filled it with warm coffee. Gene looked up and saw the Lieutenant making her way over, looking exhausted. He slowly stood and met her half-way.

" Coffee, Catherine?" he asked with a small smile. Catherine felt a smile blossom on her face and she nodded.

" Yes, please, thanks, Gene." she said, taking the coffee from him, and sipping it gleefully.

" This tastes great, thank you." she said with a nod. And Gene smiled.

" You enjoy that." he said and squeezed her shoulder gently before turning and heading back over. Catherine smiled. Medics never failed to make sure others needs were in front of their own. 

" Hey, Catherine." she heard a voice call and Catherine turned to see it was Nixon making his way towards her.

" What's up?" she asked.

" Major Horton's dead." Nixon said once he came close to her. Catherine spit her coffee out of her mouth, and started coughing. Nixon gently patted her back as she came out of it and looked at him.

" Major Horton? He's dead?" she asked. Nixon nodded, and Catherine sighed to herself.

" It means Dick's moving up to lead 2nd Battalion." Nixon said and Catherine stared at him with wide eyes.

" Who's leading Easy?" she asked him quickly. 

" Dick said Moose would." Nixon stated and she knew he meant Moose Heyliger, another Lieutenant. Catherine blew some air from her cheeks and nodded.

" Man," she said, shaking her head as she sipped more coffee.

" Sink wants that report," Nixon said as he took out a cigarette and started smoking.

" Once I get back to CP, I can start on it." Catherine said. Her report was a simple one, about the geography of the land, stuff like that, which she didn't mind at all doing, she just took a while on things like that, editing and rewriting. They filled up her time more than actual coherent thoughts did and she never failed to complain about it to Nixon or Winters when the opportunity presented itself. 

It gave them quite the laugh though. 

And Catherine was glad for that.


	60. a medic's return

" The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rate and beautiful of all."

_\- The Emperor, Mulan_

✰✰✰

Liebgott was being pulled from the line and he was angry it was him and not the sick and crippled Hazel Parker.

Hazel never got the chance to say good bye when he left, because after the hug, he had gone to the aid station and Gene had come and been the one to tell Hazel he was being evacuated back to England to heal for a bit and Hazel felt her heart sag, knowing her best friend wasn't by her side. The days after the battle at Crossroads were growing shorter, colder and everyone was irritable and Hazel's sickness progression had taken quite the turn. She woke up hacking up mucus one night in the barn, and then proceeded to cough for the rest of the night every few seconds.

Hazel eventually stood up and walked outside the barn and sat her bottom down in the early morning, before the sun was even up and stared glumly out at the slightly dark, but slowly growing light sky. She slowly reached in to grab the Star of David and gently brushed against it's warm surface, heated up even more from the persistent fever and gently pressed her lips to it, as her bottom lip trembled.

 _No_.

She refused to cry because she were miserable. She felt it was the numbness by now. Crying was too vulnerable and too weak for a war like this. In all her time of being sick and feeling horrible, she had refused to cry and put up the strong facade that she lived by. Hazel coughed again and then let out a tiny whimper, just wanting to stop coughing for 5 minutes.

" Thought I heard you out here." a voice said and Hazel looked over to see Lip there. She knew he'd be the one to follow her out here. He always was making sure she was ok.

" Hi, Lip." she said as he slowly moved over to sit down beside her up against the barn. Lip looked out at the sky which signaled the sun would be rising soon. He glanced over at Hazel who was struggling on too many levels right now.

He knew.

Everyone did.

War was horrible.

There was no way around it and he had seen her brave face through Normandy, but it seemed her breaking point was nearing. Between seeing Lizzie get injured, getting sick, going through Holland with low morale, watching her best friend get evacuated and now a turn on her sickness, she was miserable.

That's when she broke, and a tiny sob escaped her lips. She put a shaking hand to her lips and she let Lip pull her into his warm side in the darkness of the morning as she coughed again. Her cries were so weak sounding and she felt so ungodly horrible and upset. Lip's arm over her shoulder was warm and comforting and she had never felt more secure in his arms. Lip's tight squeezes made more tears well up in her eyes as she grasped onto the front of his ODs.

" I'm sorry, Lip." she sobbed out, as another whimper left her lips. 

" It's okay, Hazel," Lip said softly, rubbing her shoulder, as she squeezed her eyes shut, " It'll be okay." Hazel nodded into his side, forcing herself to believe that. Lip had never seen any of the women of the Viragos cry, they always put up strong, brave faces and they were unwavering and determined and filled with passion and they were driven by an inspiring force. Emotions were part of being a human though.

" I know you miss them." Lip said softly, his gently hand, rubbing her shoulder and Hazel nodded against Lip, sniffling before coughing. 

" I've always been with them." Hazel whispered, thinking back to all of Lizzie's smiles that seemed to light up her entire face, making her blue eyes look brighter than normal, the dimple on her left cheek more prominent. She thought of Joe's little smirk he only adorned when he looked her way, and the little chuckle that followed when he'd grin fully. She never knew she'd miss it that much.

" But they'll be back." Lip said and Hazel nodded, she knew they would. They were strong. 

" My ma always said that you can't be strong all the time, you need to break sometimes to get back where you want." Lip said softly as Hazel leaned back a bit and looked up at him. Lip offered a gentle, compassionate smile. Hazel gently reached up to wipe a tear from her eye and smiled with a soft nod.

" Your mom sounds so nice, Lip." Hazel said as Lip gently reached up to brush some hairs that stuck to her face from her tears. 

" She is," Lip said, " I miss her."

" I miss my mom, too." Hazel said softly, " But you remind me a lot of her, just the way you are." Lip smiled softly at her. 

" I'm always here for you, Hazel, remember that." Lip said and Hazel nodded.

" Thank you." she whispered. Lip smiled softly at her. Then, they sat and watched the sunrise together, and Hazel felt herself feeling better, just watching what a new day can bring, what hope and light can offer in this dark world.

Sunrises were beautiful and so were new beginnings. 

Easy continued to move closer to some of the smaller towns around Arnhem, bedding down in houses along the streets, or in barns and most dreadful of all foxholes. And they continued to send people on patrols.

Shifty was never happier to be paired with Hazel all the time, the two moved and worked well together like a circuit, seeming to think one step in front of the other and getting work done quickly.

It was a system that worked well.

George and Hazel spent many evenings side by side, finding even just the littlest things to talk about. George had always been a friend of Joe Liebgott since the beginning even back in Toccoa; even their beds had been beside each other and they'd start football games together or baseball games back there together.

He missed Joe too.

Then Malarkey would wander over with Skip and Penkala and the group would be the happiest of them all, laughing and joking, hoping to bring just a bit of light into the quiet barn. It made everything a bit easier to deal with.

On the 14th of October, Gene was giving Hazel her 4th penicillin injection since the end of September. But Hazel had never felt worse for the medics, watching the stress and worry tumble through his vision as he worked quickly to make sure he could get a move on. Medics dealt with much worse. There was sleep deprivation, and anger, and hunger, and exhaustion, and the overlying sicknesses.

With constant battles, that resulted in stalemate, no body ever knew where they would be sleeping, or whether they would get sleep. It felt more so a bigger mess created from that of Market-Garden and the horror that was. News spread quickly about Winters' being promoted to XO and Moose Heyliger becoming CO. It seemed people were a little upset not that Heyliger was going to be CO, but mainly because they would miss Winters in the field. He was always there for every man and woman in the company, and they were all used to him, coming from Toccoa as a 2nd Lieutenant who had led them through Sobel's hell.

Hazel's sickness was weeding off the best it possibly could at the moment, her fever had disappeared, but she was left with a stuffed up nose, a fuzzy head, and a slight cough and sneeze. But she'd been through the worst of it and Hazel thanked Joe Liebgott's Hershey bar.

Gene was giving Hazel her dose of penicillin, when a bright, cheery voice suddenly entered the station. 

" Gene Roe looking dapper as usual." the voice called out and both Hazel and Gene looked over to see Lizzie, strolling in, a smile on her face, a slight limp in her leg, and a bright look in her eyes.

" Lizzie?" Gene asked as Hazel's eyes widened. 

" Hey," Lizzie said and for the first time Hazel watched Gene not hesitate to hug someone. Hazel felt a smile tug onto her lips watching the two medics who held such a deep respect for each other hug the life out of one another. It was like there was a light that had been flipped on, shining brightly and continuing to try and reach the darkest corners of where they were. And it was Lizzie. Lizzie slowly pulled back from Gene and smiled a soft smile his way.

" How's your leg?" he asked almost immediately as his eyes darted down to it.

" It'll be fine, I had to go AWOL. Slight limp, but hey what else is new." she said and then noticed Hazel slowly hopping down from the counter she was on, looking weaker, smaller and paler than usual.

" Lizzie." Hazel said a smile on her face. As she spoke, her voice sounded clogged and congested. 

" You feeling okay?" Lizzie automatically asked as she stepped closer.

" I got sick, just the flu, it's fine." Hazel said and Lizzie smirked with a slight laugh.

" First time I hear someone say the have the flu and they're fine." Lizzie said and Hazel giggled.

" C'mere." Lizzie said, and Hazel wrapped Lizzie in a hug.

" And don't you dare pull the I'm sick crap, I'm hugging you." Lizzie said and Hazel laughed in her ear. It was a soft and warm hug, and Hazel didn't realize in that moment how much she had missed Lizzie until now. Hazel stepped back and smiled up at Lizzie before both women turned to Gene.

" Want to finish up the penicillin?" Gene asked Hazel and Hazel nodded. Hazel slowly walked over to the counter and with a bit of help from Gene she sat on the counter again as he began inserting it. Lizzie watched Hazel with sad eyes.

How long had the girl been sick? 

How long had she been dealing with that nightmare?

But she watched Hazel sit there, a soft smile on her face as she stared off, sniffling every so often from her wonderfully stuffed up nose. When Gene finished the insertion, he gently helped the girl jump down before setting her straight.

" Everyone's going to be excited to see you." Hazel said coming to Lizzie's side with wide, innocent eyes.

" I'll be back, Gene." Lizzie called over her shoulder before the two women headed off in search of the mass of Easy Company. 

" Is that? Elizabeth!" a call came and the two turned to see Tab jobbing over from one of the nearby barns a smile on his face.

" Hey, Tab." Lizzie said as the man skidded to a halt in front of Lizzie. Hazel watched as Tab didn't hesitate to hug the medic and Lizzie laughed as she hugged Tab tightly. He pulled back.

" Could've sworn we wouldn't see you for a while. Thought you'd been having tea with the good Churchill himself." Tab said and the two girls laughed.

" Yeah, right, Tab," Lizzie said as Tab smirked. 

" Do you know where everyone else is?" Hazel asked him.

" Yeah, most of the guys are hanging around the barn, c'mon." Tab said as he led them over towards the large barn that stood in the blistering day. 

" Hey, guys!" Tab called as he opened the barn door, " You'll never believe it!"

" Lizzie!" cried Smokey, the first to notice the girl, and immediately people were racing over to see the medic that had saved some of their lives. Smokey got there first and pulled the girl into a tight hug, before Shifty pulled through and threw his arms around her.

Her little crew. Then George was there practically throwing himself into a hug around her as the two laughed at something he said. Then there was Perco and then Joe Toye and then others followed like Johnny, Malarkey, Skip, Penkala, Babe and Bull. Catherine was nowhere to be seen.

" Hey, Skip." Hazel called as the man stepped back to let Penkala see Lizzie, " Where's Mack?" 

" She's with Battalion," Skip said. Hazel smiled.

" Great, she'll be back tonight and she can see Lizzie." Hazel said and Skip smiled at her.

" Yes, yes she can." Skip said and Hazel grinned.

And Catherine was there in a heartbeat. 

Once she heard Lizzie was back, she almost knocked Ronald Speirs to the _ground_ in Battalion Headquarters and almost broke the door as she flung it open. Lizzie was sitting beside Hazel and Malarkey that night, laughing in the barn

" Lizzie!" Catherine called running up to her and Lizzie turned to see the Lieutenant coming her way.

" Catherine!" Lizzie called before standing and launching each other into a fierce hug.

" I'm so glad you're ok," Catherine said as the two pulled back and glanced at the leg wound.

" Yeah, me too. It's healing up though, big time. It'll be good completely within a month." Lizzie said and Catherine smiled. And for a night, there was no low morale, or fear or sadness. There was light.

On the 15th, Easy was given the new they were moving out again, towards Schoonderlogt, Holland, which was close to Arnhem, in a smaller countryside village. Everyone packed up and the familiar sight and sound of marching began. They crossed the Waal River later in the afternoon before they reached the tiny town where towns people cowered in their homes, fearful of the Germans. Upon seeing their American arrivals though, the tension they had entered the town with dissipated. Lieutenants gave orders for where platoons would be bedding out, and when patrols were to be set. Every town was the same they moved to, without fail.

Lizzie stepped into the aid station and found the group of 5 medics she normally worked with, bustling about the station, prepping it. Which was nothing entirely new; Gene had filled her in last night. Each and every town they moved to and from, they had to pack everything up and move it and then set it all up again as patrols were sent out almost immediately and injury was prevalent.

" This is one of the last ones off the truck." Lizzie said as she heaved the box onto the shelf nearby with a sigh, freezing up for a moment, as her wound gave a strike of pain. It did that sometimes by now, something she was rather used to by this point. 

" I'll get the last few boxes." Mampre said as he headed out, pushing his helmet to his head.

" Thanks," Lizzie said, knowing he had heard the slight groan leave her lips when she hefted the book up. 

" Hey," a voice said and Lizzie glanced towards the source to find Gene beside her, looking towards her worriedly, " your leg okay?"

" Yeah," she said, nodding, a genuine smile forcing itself on her face this time, " yeah." Gene gave her a look, not entirely convinced but ended up nodding to her.

" Want to help me sort these bandages out? They got messed up from the drive over." Gene asked her and she nodded, following Gene over towards the area where the, agreeably, messy box filled with bandages was. The two stood side by side and began taking out the bandages one at a time each and folding them again.

" How was the hospital?" Gene asked her and Lizzie glanced his way and shrugged her shoulders. 

" Okay, I guess, I would've rather stuck with you guys though." Lizzie told him, as she neatly folded another bandage up. Gene looked towards Lizzie who suddenly had grown quieter, his eyes downcast.

" Did something happen?" he asked her. Lizzie's eyes met his within seconds. Gene watched her eyes search his, as if the answer to her question was there. Lizzie looked back down at the bandages in her grasp and Gene watched as she clenched her hands together before nervously tapping them against the wood surface. She zoned out. 

" Lizzie." Gene said, and she met his eyes again. She bit back her lip and glanced over her shoulder back towards where the other medics were. She then looked back at Gene and her mind crumbled. She didn't want him to think differently of her.

" There was a special doctor there," Lizzie whispered softly as Gene began to watch her hands tremble with the bandage in her grasp, " He told me there was something wrong with my brain." Gene's gaze narrowed. Lizzie couldn't even meet his eyes, she couldn't bare to. It was an embarrassment. 

" He told me that when I came through, for inspection and stuff like that, that he noticed I wasn't...normal?" Lizzie said and Gene watched her like he couldn't even comprehend what she was saying.

" He told me I had something called hyperkinetic impulse disorder, not exactly something severe, but enough to interfere with my life." Lizzie said quietly. She expected Gene to step back, look at her, disown her. Hyperkinetic impulse disorder was looked at as if it were a disease, a mutation; all issues where your brain wasn't functioning as a normal human were looked at right now as if you were a problem as if you weren't human. The doctor had told her all about it. And she had only felt worse about herself. 

" It's why I wasn't sleeping well, or why I was so focused and would drone out everything else, why when you spoke to me sometimes I couldn't focus on you. It's why I can't just be." Lizzie whispered softly, not even willing to look at Gene. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and met Gene's eyes.

" You don't hate me?" she whispered softly, her voice breaking. The news had broke her and she had been a mess in the hospital. She had cried most of her days there, which had only made her hyperkinetic impulse disorder worse and she couldn't even get the usual prescribed medication. She had been a mess and it seemed others in the hospital had known. She had been looked upon as if she were a different species. 

" I could never hate you." Gene said softly, his accent thicker than when he first asked her. Lizzie felt her lip quiver a bit but she forced the cry down her throat that wanted to explode. She had felt worthless in the hospital, she had felt like something was wrong with her. Lizzie bit back her lip as she met Gene's eyes again.

" Everyone at the hospital; they looked at me like I was a disease because of it." Lizzie told Gene and she watched his gaze harden, as he clenched his jaw.

Gene watched Lizzie, a girl he'd come to know as one of his closest friends here, become torn up because of her hyperkinetic impulse disorder diagnose. That didn't change her kind and caring soul, or her loving personality. It didn't change an ounce of it at least for Gene. And he knew none of the guys wouldn't think of it for a second or let it bother them. 

They loved Lizzie for Lizzie and that's all that mattered. You loved people, even when they were a bit broken, a bit sad, a bit unhappy with life. You showed them that. Putting them down because they were different wasn't a way to solve problems.

Lizzie was human, they all were, and Lizzie was a human with the warmest soul Gene had ever seen on a person; he would never think of her differently because of her hyperkinetic impulse disorder. He would never think of it as something that was supposed to bring people down.

" Don't listen to them, Lizzie," Gene said gently, his warm hand on her shoulder a comfort she didn't know she needed, " you already know this, but that doesn't change your soul, or the comfort you bring people, or how you hold yourself. And the people that truly love you would never think any different of you." Lizzie watched Gene as tears filled her eyes. She hastily sniffled and watched him.

A small smile was on his lips. He didn't even have to say anything else, because Lizzie knew what he meant, just with those words. She sniffled again as she brushed away the tear that crawled down her cheek. She nodded and smiled at him softly. She didn't know how much she had needed to hear that when she could barely tell herself that.

" I just hoped people wouldn't think of me any different just because I was diagnosed with it, because I'm still me." Lizzie said, as she sniffled, feeling her throat tighten. Gene smiled softly at her.

" You are still you, you'll always be." Gene said gently. Lizzie met his eyes, which wanted to make her breakdown then and there in front of him, as she hit her wall. Gene watched her with the most truthful, loyal and caring eyes. They were like the eyes of a doe, soft, fragile and gentle. They weren't judging, they were just watching you, making sure you were okay.

" Thanks, Gene." Lizzie whispered softly, as her voice cracked at the end of it.

 _Thank you for accepting who I truly was_ , she thought softly. Gene gently rubbed her shoulder and nodded to her, his eyes said it all.

They always did.


	61. operation pegasus

" I'm not telling you it is going to be easy - I am telling you it is going to be worth it."

_\- Art Williams_

✰✰✰

By the 17th, the company was housed in various homes in a tiny town, Schoonderlogt, Holland. Hazel was put into a house with Easy Company's 2nd platoon, housing with 2nd squad, which consisted of Toye who was filling for Bill who took a joyride on a motorcycle and took a hit to the leg, Babe, and Chuck, plus a few others. She was cuddled up in blankets with her longer hair splayed out behind her, clutching the pillow to her chest tightly. She was snoring, but the boys didn't mind, it was her stuffed up nose causing it and the end of the sickness, as she continued fighting every battle they got engaged in. She woke up after the men had, and was achy and exhausted, which wasn't anything new. 

" Hey Tiny," Toye said from his bed next to hers as she rolled over to look at it, and let out a huff.

" Still feeling like crap?" he asked her and she nodded. 

" Wanna get some breakfast?" Chuck called to her and she nodded, as she slowly sat up and moved her legs to the side over the bed. She carefully began pulling her boots over her feet, and lacing them up, before pulling on her layers and slowly getting to her feet.

" I'm so achy." she groaned at as she finally stood up and began walking, feeling her head swim. 

" You just keep resting up, Tiny, and you'll be feeling better in no time." Babe said, " That's what my ma always says."

" Thanks, Babe." Hazel said with a smile to him. Catherine was walking through the town that morning when a truck stopped nearby and she turned and saw a driver, as well as Nixon and Winters in the truck. 

" What's up?" she asked.

" Colonel Sink." Nixon said through a grumble, of sleepiness she thought.

" Oh." she said, moving in to sit next to Winters with a smile. The minute they were moving, so was Nixon's mouth.

" I mean, we're the only unit in the group that's got the Germans on the German side of the Rhine." Nixon exasperated as Catherine glanced at Winters through her side eye as the two saluted a higher up.

" If we'd have taken Antwerp, and I'm not saying that that would have been Easy, we would be over the river, well supplied, and have the Krauts on their heels." Nixon said, puffing another smoke, " Now, if I can just get Ike on the phone. Are you listening to me?" Winters moved from the truck the minute it stopped and Catherine smirked, patting Nixon's shoulder.

" Hangin' on every word." Winters said with a slight smirk and Catherine chuckled as she hopped out of the truck to follow Winters inside. Catherine followed Winters into Battalion HQ, Nixon slowly catching up to her after jumping out of the truck.

" Hey, Moose, you too?" Winters asked Moose Heyliger who was standing just inside. 

" Yeah, whatever's going on, Sink is not happy." Moose said, giving a smile to Catherine and she gave him a friendly smile back.

" Nixon, Heyliger, McCown." Sink called, rather angrily. Catherine glanced towards Nixon as he raised a brow with the coffee that was in his hands. Catherine glanced back at Winters before walking forward. 

" Meet Colonel Dobie, British 1st Airborne." Sink said as the trio stepped forward.

" Captain Nixon is our 2nd Battalion S-2." Sink said, " That's 1st Lieutenant Moose Heyliger, and this is 2nd Lieutenant Catherine McCown, she works with Easy Company and 2nd Battalion."

" Pleasure." Dobie said as he shook their hands, seemingly surprised when 'McCown' stepped forward and happened to be a girl, with long brown hair. 

" It appears the British lost 8,000 men when Market Garden fell on its ass. Which is why Colonel Dobie has been tasked with coordinating some kind of rescue operation for the Red Devils who were trapped when Arnhem fell." Sink explained as he sat down and Catherine peered closer at the map.

" Dutch Resistance are harboring 140 of my chaps here," Dobie said as he pointed to a location and both Nixon and Catherine leaned down against the table eyes narrowed looking at the map. Catherine studied in a quick period. 

" Just outside a Jerry-held town 15 miles north of the river. They'll make their way to the riverbank and assemble in the woods here, tonight." Dobie explained, as Catherine narrowed her eyes.

" Pick a team from Easy Company and get them back across the Rhine as fast as possible." Strayer said. 

" 140 men?" Moose asked.

" Canadian engineers have supplied six boats. The rendezvous point is isolated and landable. I swam it myself last night." Dobie said as he stood and walked over to a map. Catherine slowly walked over as she let out a puff of her smoke, standing near the map, eyes narrowed. 

" At approximately 0030 hours they will signal the V for Victory with a hand-held red torch." Dobie said before turning to Nixon and Catherine, " That would be a hand-held red flashlight." Nixon glanced at Catherine as she smirked, her cheeks turning a bit red.

" Alright, we'll call this thing Operation Pegasus. Bob, your 2nd Battalion is on the spot. Get it done." Sink told Strayer. 

" Captain Nixon, Lieutenant McCown, assist Colonel Dobie in every way possible. If you need anything at all, you come to me." Strayer told the two and they nodded.

" I can hardly ask for more." Dobie said looking to the two, as the normally sarcastic two nodded with smiles. As Nixon stepped forward, Catherine glanced back to Winters who was looking their way as Strayer led him in the opposite direction. 

She felt bad for Winters. She knew he missed his company these past 12 days. He'd been with them from day one and now they were taken away from him. 

Easy was trained with rubber boats provided by the Canadian engineers that late morning in the rather cold water. They were prepared for Operation Pegasus by that night, which was set to take off with Moose leading as well as Dobie with Welsh as another Lieutenant to join along with. Catherine would be going on the Operation, but she had a mountain of reports to work through quickly before that could occur. 

So Catherine went up to visit Winters. 

She knew he had a quiet area to write and there was an extra typewriter. The man was already slightly upset that he wasn't allowed to lead Easy anymore, the men and women he'd seen from Toccoa and England to now, but he also wasn't going on the Operation; he was holed up, writing a report. Sink continued to send reports for Catherine to work out, because he had noticed in the one report she had been assigned how well she wrote and decided to give her more. She had done her job helping Dobie the best she could with Nixon but eventually she was excused and decided to do what she could to give some company and comfort to Winters, before she was supposed to head out. 

Catherine slowly opened the door that lead up to his makeshift office, and shut it before her before climbing the stairs with the report in her hands that she needed to edit. Her head appeared over the top of the wall in the office, her brown hair longer now past her shoulders as she smiled.

" Hey Catherine." Winters said as a slight smile came on his features as he slowly stood up. 

" Hey, how're you doing?" she asked him as she stopped in front of his desk, looking up at him with the report bulging in her hands.

" I'm doing good," he said glancing towards the window where Easy Company was slowly prepping for the Operation. Catherine glanced at the window and back at him.

" I figured I'd keep you company, since we both have reports to write and I take hours anyway." Catherine said with a smile and Winters nodded, " Before I have to head out."

" Ok, well, not much happening up here, but make yourself at home. If you need one there's an extra type writer around here somewhere." Winters said as he began looking for and Catherine sat down at a table with a comfy chair nearby setting up her stuff. Catherine looked up as she watched as Winters pulled a typewriter from a box and walked over to her with it before placing it on the table. Her eyes widened. It was new, and clean and filled with ink.

" Wow," she said, " This is beautiful." 

" Yeah, brand-new. Sink had a bunch made, and delivered me an extra." Winters explained as he went and sat down again at his desk. Catherine immediately pulled the typewriter in front of her and set it up with fresh paper.

" Wow." she said again, admiring it. Winters smiled as he continued on his own report. The two worked in a comfortable silence, as the typewriter typed from both of their ends. Zeilnski arrived, coming back in and asked Catherine if she wanted coffee and Catherine nodded.

" Yes, please. Black, no sugar, thank you." Catherine said and Zelinski nodded before turning and heading out again. Winters looked at Catherine and she raised a brow.

" Must be an intelligence officer thing." Winters said and Catherine smirked.

" What?" she asked.

" Black, no sugar, Nix got the same thing." he said as he looked back at his typewriter and hit a button.

" Maybe we just have good taste." Catherine said sitting back with a smile, " And you were a bit sarcastic, assuming that you get that from Nixon." Winters laughed slightly and Catherine quirked a smile.

" And he laughs too." Catherine said as Winters shook his head with a chuckle. 

Catherine watched Winters get to work on his typing and watched him get into his mood. She wasn't sure if she'd realized it before, but his hair was more ginger than it had been, but the sad truth behind it was because he was clean, he wasn't out fighting with his company in the battlefield. He was in a warm building, up with lights and the comfort knowing he wouldn't lose his life tonight when one of the men from his company could. She had never seen Captain Winters look as sad as he did now. He loved that company with his whole heart. 

And now he was watching them go off to battle without him.

" Dick," Catherine said and she watched as he looked up towards her, sitting at the tiny table her feet tucked in under herself in a criss-cross, " I know you miss the company." Her face performed a pained expression as she said those words, as she watched him, watching his face, turned to a sadness she never saw on the Captain's face. Winters slowly pulled his hands back from the typewriter and folding them together watching them.

" I see it in your face," Catherine said. She was observant and sometimes it was a bother to be as observant as she was, but she read people like an open book, even someone as tied down as Captain Winters. 

The stress lines, the worry that was constantly upon his features, the looks at HQ this morning when he wasn't a part of the operation discussion. She knew, even if he didn't have the heart to say it.

" They'll be fine without me." Winters said, nodding, silently convincing himself that he was not needed. 

" It's okay, if you think the other way," Catherine said softly, " you watched them grow in training at Toccoa, all through England and Normandy. Dick, it's only normal." Winters slowly met her gaze and watched her. Her eyes were filled with evident pain, he could see it all over her face. She was the one to look down.

" I just, I've known you for a while Dick, I know when you worry, especially for this company," Catherine said, gently meeting his gaze again, " I just want you to know, that if you ever want to talk, I'm here." Winters watched her. 

Catherine knew Winters normally didn't express his emotions, he didn't let on when he was upset, when he was emotional, he just stayed strong, for the company, for the men and women. Being in command, all alone, is lonely, and sometimes you're forced to shove your emotions to the side and just be in command. But sometimes emotions are the only thing that bring you back. Catherine averted her gaze, she looked back at her typewriter and the unwritten report, and sighed to herself. She had messed up; she shouldn't have even mentioned it.

" I watched them from day one, Cath," a quiet voice said and Catherine looked over to see Winters looking at her as he leaned back in his chair, speaking quietly, " I watched them get past Sobel, earn their jump wings, I watched them become the paratroopers they were made out to be. I watched them make their first combat jump and fight in the war we've prepared so long for, and now they're just, their not my company anymore." Catherine watched the Captain hold a steady gaze with her. Catherine bit back her lip, as finally the weight lifted from her shoulders. 

" It's been hard, watching them fight, and I can't be with them." Winters said nodding, " Yeah, it's been hard." Winters sighed to himself and put his head in his hands. Winters loved that company, Catherine knew. Everyone did. Seeing Winters miss it as desperately as he did, upset her. It's why she visited him as often as she did. So he was still connected to the men in a way to the company to Easy.

" Dick, I didn't mean to upset you-"

" No," Dick said, slowly sitting up and looking at her, " I needed to be told that." Catherine watched him, speak that with the full and honest truth, " I just needed to hear someone say it." Catherine's heart broke. She nodded.

" You've always been a great soldier, Catherine," Winters said, as he titled his head to gaze out the window, his gaze gentle, filled with emotion. Catherine watched him, biting back her lip. Her psychology classes haven't prepared her for this. She nodded again. 

" I miss them, I do," Winters said nodding, " they're one of the best things to have happened to me out here." Catherine watched him with sad eyes. He could never be CO again.

" I know," Catherine whispered softly. 

Winters met her gaze again and Catherine tried to remain slightly positive. But knowing how distraught Winters was, she knew it would never leave her brain. Yet he just wanted the best for the company, even all the way in this position. 

A few hours later, Catherine had finished her reports up, even though Winters still had so many, but she had to head out. She bided Winters goodbye and headed down towards where the mass of Easy was preparing. The boats were set up on the side of the bank as Easy loaded weapons, and gathered what they needed. The Canadian engineers moved them across the river to the other side, in the silence under the moonlight. 

When the boats reached the shore, the paratroopers rushed out of the boats. Catherine's feet hit the edge of the shore, as the rocks crunched underneath her boots, as she looked towards Tab, who nodded to her. 

Tab raced past her as Catherine watched each boat land on the shore, and then men get out, the Canadians the ones to hold the boats in place. Catherine turned and gave the thumbs up to Tab. Catherine hurried up to Tab's side as they crouched side by side with the company behind them, in the darkness. Catherine shifted her helmet a bit on her head as she watched Moose and Dobie meet up with another Red Devil before running off with him. Bull came running back from his call from Moose, and hurried up to Tab and Catherine.

" Brit's are on their way." he said, and Tab nodded. Then they were left in the quiet of the night as the men of Easy waited.

" How're you doing?" Tab asked his 2nd in command, who sat quietly next to him, eyes peeled forward looking at the forest in front of them. Catherine glanced over at him and shrugged a bit before glancing back at where Moose sat awaiting the return of Dobie, and the Brigadier General. 

Winters was on Catherine's mind and making her a bit of a wreck if she was being honest. She just felt bad for him, and she couldn't do a thing about it.

" I'm ok, I'm just worn out." she said with a small smile. 

" Yeah, the whole sleep things been out the window for a bit longer than I would've liked." Tab said and Catherine let out a tiny laugh.

" Maybe after this, we'll finally get time to sleep." Catherine said looking at him and Tab smirked.

" Yeah, I hope." he said, before glancing back at the rest of the men and women.That's when Dobie, and the men he had left with returned with the Brigadier General, and the 4 sat talking quietly together. 

Suddenly, one of them went running down the length of the road and about 100 men jumped out from the forest, red berets shining under the moonlight. Catherine squinted as Moose and the Brigadier General stood and hurried over to the men and women. It was quick, as they moved the British men onto the boats with Easy and quietly sailed towards the other side. 

When they reached the other side, they had saved 138 men from the lower end of the Rhine. About half were sent to be checked for injuries. Gene and Lizzie received them, where as Lizzie had a slightly sad gently smile on her face, as her blond hair hung down around her face. The men though, were complete gentlemen as they talked to the girl as she cleaned their wounds or wrapped up parts of their arms or legs. All the British soldiers had agreed that they were surprised that there was a female combat medic working with the Airborne, but the other half was surprised when they found that there were 2 other women besides the female medic. The barn was filled with British and American paratroopers alike. There were drinks and men everywhere, celebrating brother to brother.

" Wahai, Mohammed!" 

" Wahai, Mohammed!"

" Moose Heyliger and the American 101st, have done the Red Devils a great service, making it possible for us to return, and fight the enemy on another day." The Brigadier General said as the group cheered. 

" To Easy Company....victory and Currahee!" the Brigadier General called as pride filled the American paratroopers suddenly.

" Currahee!" they all yelled, the men of Easy the loudest, as they yelled with their pride and joy. Hazel moved through with a smile on her face as people began talking and drinking together in celebration of the extremely early morning where the sun wasn't even up, but it was only 3 am. She eventually went to bed however, she was freezing and still a bit sick and in need of a good sleep. 

Hazel woke up the next morning, later than she had wanted, her mind filled with memories from last night. Hazel slowly sat up and looked around at the bright sunlight that was gently streaming inside. She noticed the rest of the men were asleep as well in their beds. Then she looked down and realized she was in her own bed. But she realized, she didn't feel that sick anymore either. She reached up to touch her forehead and realized that it wasn't warm or slick with cold sweat like she had figured it would be. Instead when she stood, she didn't feel her head swim with each step and she felt like she were awake and alert. When she got down to breakfast she slid in next to Shifty, and inhaled her food, as Chuck looked toward her with a raised brow.

" Are you feeling better?" he asked, slightly disgusted at how hungrily she ate her good. She nodded.

" Oh yeah, can you tell?" she said. Shifty snickered.

" Yeah, mama always says sleep is the best medicine." Babe said as he slid in next to Chuck and began eating his meal.

" Got that right Babe, my ma always put me to bed early when I was sick as a kid. Couldn't go to school or out with my friends, none of that. Mrs Grant is a powerhouse and wouldn't let me out." Chuck said.

" I'm just glad that I don't feel like I'm swimming anymore." Hazel said with a sigh of relief. 

" Well, I'm glad you're not swimming either, we don't need you almost falling in the river again like that last patrol." Shifty said and Hazel burst out laughing, nearly choking on her food.

" What?" Babe asked leaning forward, eyes shining, " Almost fell in a river?" Shifty nodded as he laughed.

" It's so bad, I can't say, I'd feel rude." Shifty said as Hazel grinned at him.

" I was dizzy, from the fever about a week ago, and they sent Shifty and I out on a patrol near the Neder-Rijn. I was moving towards it and I guess in my delirium thought my tiny body could swim through the river and was about to plunge when Shifty held me back. It was moving so fast, I almost jumped in." she said as the two others broke into chuckles.

" You sound like Speirs." Chuck said.

" What'd that lunatic do?" Babe asked. He had some Bill in him no doubt.

" Leading a patrol on the 10th, which kicked him out of action, with one of those bullets in his but, the guy swam the river at night, to enemy territory and grabbed a rubber boat the pull to the other side for the men on his patrol. He came back with the bullet, but with that crazy smile on his face. He's brave." Chuck said nodding.

" I've always admired him." Hazel said with a nod. She had to admit, Speirs was admirable, just because he seemed to accept death and despair and rather take it in strides and just go with it. It was his motivator. 

If he almost died doing something, it seemed like he'd call it a good experience.

" He's admirable alright," Chuck said, " ran through a bunch of enemy fire a few days before that so he could plant a few bombs, nearly died." Hazel's eyes widened.

" He's got a set for sure." Babe muttered as Hazel smirked, hearing Chuck and Shifty snicker. 

He had a want for death, to just slip past it before running from it's grasp. 

He played a dangerous game, but it seemed like it was fun for him, slipping past death only to have to trailing in defeat. 

Crazy Lieutenant. 


	62. such is life

" Life is so ironic. It takes sadness to know what happiness is, noise to appreciate silence and absence to value presence."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

When mail arrived, morale rose a bit. 

Lizzie heard from her brothers, and her heart felt whole. Brady was in Europe, he couldn't say where exactly, but he was enjoying a 48 hour pass at some place he and his friends had managed and was writing this letter. Michael had been in Italy for a while, the fighting continuing to be brutal and relentless, but he had a break from it all for a moment or two and was relishing it all. 

Catherine also got word from her brothers in the Pacific, they were both healthy and alive. Relief filled everyone's hearts when they found out that the 2 girls' siblings were in fact safe. Lizzie though learned her grandmother after all this time was not recovering she were supposed to. But Lizzie threw a smile on her face, like all the other times sadness inflicted her life, and kept walking around with Gene, and talking and laughing and keeping up her duties, as well as making injured soldiers smile a bit. 

However, on Halloween, Lizzie didn't smile as her and Gene went sprinting from the aid station, with calls for a medic. neither of them had their helmets on or their medic satchels, they had virtually nothing of use for the injured man who they would be helping and it was dark as they raced through the slightly chilly night. The two medics approached the car and the hospital car quickly just as Winters was yelling for a stretcher.

" I got him, Harry." Gene called as the two approached, " You give him morphine?" 

" Yeah," Harry answered as he jumped down and Lizzie strained her eyes to look at Moose who Gene was quickly inspecting.

" How much?" Lizzie asked quickly looking at Welsh. 

" Oh, I can't remember, two, three syrettes maybe." Harry answered, and Lizzie's heart dropped into a pit into her chest, as Lizzie jumped up into the hospital cart, her hair flipping over her shoulder as she watched the three soldiers in front of her attempt to move the unconscious Moose.

" Three syrettes maybe?" Gene asked, anger and frustration in his voice as Lizzie looked towards Harry and WInters. 

" Yeah." came the answer.

" Jesus Christ, were you trying to kill him?" Gene snapped out. 

" I think it was two," Harry said trying to cool Gene's fire and Lizzie moved to the ledge.

" That much morphine and he could've died!" Lizzie called, as Gene looked to her, and Winters shook his head, as the moved Moose onto a stretcher. 

" You don't think it might be important to let me know how much medication the man has had, huh?" Gene asked as the stretcher was lifted up into the air and toward the truck for Lizzie's awaiting hands, " 'Cause I do not see one syrette on the man's jacket." Gene's voice was raising, as Lizze fed in the stretcher with Moose, before moving near Moose's head near the back, her head pounding from the chaos.

" I'm sorry, Doc." Winters said, as Lizzie looked to him.

" Sure is a good thing he's a big man." Gene said, " Maybe he'll stand a chance."

" He was in a lot of pain, Doc, we didn't know what to do." Harry said as the two medics looked up and toward the two.

" Didn't know what to do?" Lizzie snapped, as Gene opened his mouth. 

" Yeah, well, you oughta. You know you are officers, you are grownups, you oughta know!" Gene snapped. And with that Gene turned looking at Lizzie and jumped up into the hospital truck.

" Alright, let's go. C'mon move it!" Gene called, as WInters stepped forward and shut the door, before patting it with a bloodied hand. As the truck pulled away, Lizzie couldn't help but glance towards where Winters and Welsh stood somewhat helpless. 

" They should've known." spat Gene, anger pure in his voice; she'd never heard him like this. She felt she couldn't answer, as she quickly adjusted her already bloody hands under Moose's head as she laid a towel over his shoulders to adjust him as Gene got to work on the wounds. 

But Lizzie was simply just distraught and a mess, and she felt like this was her last straw. She felt her eyes well with tears, from all the emotional trauma and stress she'd been under ever since they landed in Holland through her injury and the absolute pain she felt through everything since coming back, finally collapsing as she sat there, looking through blurry eyes trying to fix up Moose the best she could. 

Gene felt himself cooling down as he heard Lizzie sniffle. He glanced over at the woman, who was continuing his gentle work on Moose, her hands like silk, as she gently brushed hair from his face, as she looked at him with glossy eyes.

" It'll be ok, Moose," she whispered out before sniffling, and blinking the get the tears from her vision. Gene sighed to himself; everything had fell apart. 

November was a shit show. 

Injuries sky rocketed, sickness enveloped half the Division, and new leaders were being switched in and out within each company. Word was they were moving off the line soon, but many people knew that many of the minds would still be there on the field battling the ongoing ear that ripped life from it itself. 

So when they were finally moved to a camp called Mourmelon-le-Grand, there was relief. There was a sense of peace as well for everyone, and there was a general calmness. They weren't expected to leave the camp anytime soon either, until probably after the New Year has started. When the company got to their barracks for the night after their warm and comforting showers, everyone passed out. They weren't used to the feeling of finally being somewhat warm and having food, somewhat good food, in their stomachs as well. 

Hazel woke up disoriented the following morning. There was a hint of sunlight shining in through the tent flap and she was warm, and there was a roof over her head. Hazel slowly sat up from her spot and glanced around in confusion. She looked to her right and found Lizzie passed out in the bed, snuggled up into her blanket and pillow. On her left was Shifty, sound asleep, snoring softly, looking so innocent as he slept away. Hazel slowly pushed the covers from her body and turned to sit up fully. She let out a breath of air and pulled on her boots, tying them up nicely. As she pulled on her OD top, she glanced over and saw Joe Toye getting up as well.

" Hey, Joe." she said quietly through the tent as she saw the man look over at her. 

" Hey there, Tiny, " he said, his voice rough and scratchy, " Sleep well?"

" Yeah, finally." she said as Joe came over and wrapped an arm over her shoulders like he always did when he saw her. 

" Can we get breakfast? I'm hungry." she said and Joe smiled at her as the two headed out into the bright light.

" Did you feel weird waking up this morning?" she asked him, as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

" A little bit weird, 'cause I was finally warm and not freezing my ass off in the middle of Holland." Joe said, and Hazel smiled.

" Yeah, you're right." Hazel said as they stepped inside the lunch hall, which only had a few others inside, but it was warm and smelled of actual food. Hazel's stomach grumbled. After not feeling well for the past month, and not eating well, she finally realized how hungry she was and how inviting it smelled. When the two got their food with quiet chatter, they eventually sat down at a table near the window on the tent. Hazel slowly picked up the coffee mug and stared at it with tired eyes.

" I have never been happier to see a coffee mug," she whispered, before taking a gleeful sip of the liquid and letting it wash down her throat. Joe smiled.

" Did ya hear there's going to be a football game, on Christmas Day?" Joe asked her, as Hazel stuffed in a mouthful of oatmeal relishing the taste.

" Really?" she asked, her mind wandering a bit.

" I heard Mack might get involved with it, she seemed into it when she heard last night." Joe said. 

" Yeah, not me." Hazel said shaking her head and sipping her coffee again, " I'll get mauled."

" I wouldn't let that happen," Joe said. Hazel smiled.

" Yeah, I know," she said swinging her legs like a child almost, " I'll just watch."

" Whatever you say, kid." Joe said as he ate his own spoonful of oatmeal.

" Hmph." came a noise and both Joe and Hazel turned to see Catherine, now sliding in next to Joe, a grumble upon her features, her hair still tangled and eyes sunken in.

" Well good morning to you too." Joe muttered.

" Shut it Toye." Catherine said, before sipping her coffee immediately eyes shutting at the taste.

" I have never been more thankful to be drinking this right now," Catherine said. 

" Are you ok?" Hazel asked her. Catherine continued sipping her coffee with her eyes closed.

" Fine. Just fine, except I had to hear Chuck, snoring in my ear the entire night." Catherine said, looking at the two. 

" I always got extra room in my bed," Joe offered, and Catherine glared at him, smacking his arm.

" Stuff it." scolded Catherine, before turning back to her coffee mug, " If I can just drink this in peace that would be lovely."

" 'Morning." a voice came and the trio turned and saw Chuck sliding in next to Hazel. 

" Speak of the devil." muttered Catherine, going back to her food and coffee. Chuck raised a brow.

" Who pissed in your coffee?" Chuck said. 

" Wouldn't you like to know." Catherine answered staring coldly at Chuck, who raised a brow.

" I'm sorry?" Chuck questioned.

" You better be, Charles. You snored in my ear the entire night, and I got no sleep. First time back in a bed and I hear you." Catherine said with narrowed eyes, as Chuck glanced to Hazel. Hazel shrugged.

" What side of the bed did you wake up on?" Chuck muttered.

" Clearly not mine." Joe said with a sarcastic shake of his head as Catherine shoved him in the shoulder again.

" I'm gonna throw your ass right out that window." Catherine snapped, as Joe smirked sipping his coffee, as Hazel smiled softly. 

" Take that anger out on Chuck when you get into the football game." Joe commented, as Catherine turned to Chuck who looked so done with Clara at the moment.

" You just wait," Catherine said, before sipping her coffee, a playful look in her eyes. Chuck smirked. The day passed, filled with time off and much needed relaxation that Easy Company had missed. 

But Hazel was upset that Joe Liebgott still wasn't back. 

She sat on her bed as people played cards, as others shared a smoke or read letters. Had something happened and he was actually injured worse than he was? It made Hazel overthink.

" Hey there, kiddo." a voice said and Hazel looked up to see George Luz sliding into her bed next to her, " You doing ok? You seem quiet." Hazel nodded.

" Yeah, I'm fine." she said and she smiled softly. George gave her a crooked smile.

" He'll be here, don't worry." George told her and Hazel raised her brow a bit.

" Joe," George offered and Hazel sighed with a quiet nod.

" Yeah," she said, " he will." George smiled at her. Joking only came to a certain point where it was fine to joke around, but Hazel right now didn't look like she needed to hear any jokes. She looked like she just needed someone to sit there with her. 

" How about this? I'll just sit here with you." George said as he wrapped an arm over her shoulder and she softly glanced up at him with a tiny smile, " Sit here, and you think about whatever's going on in that mind of yours, but I'll be here, just incase you need something."

" Thank you, George." Hazel said and George smiled at her softly and nodded. They sat there quietly together, and Hazel felt safe just having George beside her, not really caring that she didn't want to speak at all. His gently rubs on her shoulder were comforting, just like her mother used to do them and his soft glances were just to make sure she was ok. George was always there for everyone and she appreciated that. 

The next day, Hazel ate breakfast with Lizzie before heading over to the shooting range with Shifty for a bit, before returning back to the tent. There was a good amount of free time, but with Christmas approaching, people were organizing football games on Christmas and parties and celebrations. it was something nice to look forward to as the Christmas holiday quickly approached. 

Hazel was bored out of her mind lying down in the bed on her side, watching as Shifty attempted to read a letter, but was having trouble keeping his eyes open. It was quite funny to watch she felt. They'd been out all day at the shooting range, and that was exhausting.

" Guess who?" a voice asked and Hazel's eyes widened. 

" The life size Hershey bar?" Hazel asked quietly, a small smile starting to bloom on her face.

" I think better than that." the voice said and Hazel slowly turned her head.

" Joe!" Hazel cried, shooting up from her bed to wrap her arms around his neck. She heard Joe laugh in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close. She cuddled her head into his neck, a small smile on her face, as she squeezed her eyes shut. She had missed him more than she thought.

" I missed you Joe." Hazel said quietly so only he could hear. She felt his chest rumble, he chuckled. He smelled like pine, a good pine scent, the one you smelled in winter in the mountains, sorta like when you would get a Christmas tree, and there was that familiar hint of smoke. It was comforting. 

" I missed you more, Parker." Joe said and Hazel grinned. Hazel just squeezed him tighter in the hug, he was back and he was here. Joe settled back into the routine of things, and Hazel was glad. She was just glad that her best friend was back. 

Practice sessions were held for the people that were taking part in the football game that would be held on Christmas Day. Hazel watched on the side, sitting alone on a bench as she watched the guys argue, then make teams and start practicing. 

Catherine got a kick out of it, she did face paint as if it were war paint, and she started doing Currahee chants with her team, which consisted of Chuck, Joe Toye, Joe Liebgott, Tab, George, Johnny, Smokey, Alton, Skinny, and Forrest Guth. Hazel enjoyed watching the team attempt to play a group of Dog Company members, and it was nice to just see them all playing and having fun, and playing like there wasn't a war on. 

Hazel saw Sergeant Jenkins wandering around with a few of the guys from Dog. Hazel watched them from over her shoulder, as the trio shared a smoke, snickering amongst each other. 

Christopher Jenkins looked different.

There was a scar on his check, and his hair looked like it was cut different, like the movie stars, and there was this odd confidence he carried himself, probably from the war, but ever since his transfer to the 101st he was different. There were a few Viragos in the 82nd; Hazel wondered how they were, if they had met this guy. Hazel bit back her lip in the slight cold of the afternoon and looked back towards the practice field of all the guys. 

She eventually trekked back to the barracks and slowly pulled out a piece of paper and her pencil. There weren't many people in the barrack and if so, some were resting. Hazel slowly pulled out a hard board that she could write against and gently put the pencil to the paper. She sat there, staring hard at the paper, worry trickling into her veins. She needed to do this, she needed to get over herself and put the pencil to paper.

_Dear Father,_ _  
_

_I received your letter right before my jump on D-Day. I am okay. I am fine. I am happy with my decisions. I can not accept your apology. I have thought about this moment for years, when I would finally receive a letter from you, when you would tell me you were sorry, genuinely and would be the father I've always wanted. But you're not. And that happens sometimes. Sometimes families don't work. I'm just upset I didn't get a letter sooner and the only time I get one from you is right before the day I could possibly lose my life. You went through many horrible things, but I can not respect your decision to leave a mother and her 8 year old child because you have your own issues. You left me. Why? Why would you leave your 8 year old child who loved you for you? Why would you do that? You leaving, forced me to grow up as an 8 year old and experience things that I should not have had to experience at that age. And you left my mother. You left her heartbroken with no explanation because you were simply doing this for yourself. Thank you for your letter but I can not accept that from a man I looked up to and once called my father. I hope that you live a better life than the one you had with your new family. But I'm not sorry for anything. This is on you._

_Hazel Parker_

Hazel's eyes welled with tears as she placed down the pencil and put her head in her hands, sucking in a shuddering breath. 

Had she been too rude? 

_No_ , she'd been truthful and firm, letting him no she wasn't that scared, naive 8 year old anymore. Yes, he might've been her father, but he was the one that left not her. She was an adult now, an adult with her own thoughts and own morals. She didn't tolerate any of that. Her mother and her had long ago dropped his last name 'Hilton' and had reverted back to the last name Parker. 

And that's why when she signed her name, she had felt a sense of pride. When this war ended, if it ended, she'd send a final letter, when her mind was clear of the horrors she had experienced, and seal off her goodbye. 

And she was right. 

Sometimes families seemed to work and then they didn't, but that was life. 

Such is life. 


	63. paris

" She glows golden like a honeycomb, a ray of afternoon sunshine."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Easy Company was falling into a nice routine, and the ability to sleep in beds which weren't a foxhole or a barn floor was a welcoming change. 

Hazel found herself humming Christmas songs daily; she couldn't wait to wake up and be in a warm little barrack with the rest of the guys from Easy, celebrating the year 1945, which would hopefully bring a quick end to the war. She prayed in the morning on most days, and then finally relished the feeling of not running around Holland. 

It was wonderful. 

The only downside was their new CO. 

Lieutenant Norman Dike. 

Lieutenant Dike was what could be conjured up as an excuse for a CO. The man seemed incompetent, forgetful, and the last thing it seemed he wanted to do was run a company of paratroopers. He forgot Hazel daily on practice runs, confused her for a male name, and then told her that she wasn't the sniper as she stood there with the Springfield in her grasp. Then he wouldn't listen to his Lieutenants and plenty of times Lipton tried to get through to him but he brushed him off, saying that he had everything under control. In conclusion, it was a mess, a big mess. They just hoped that by the time the war was over, they never stepped into the combat with him. 

November turned into December, and it grew colder with each night, but it also meant that the thought of Christmas 1944 was on many people's minds. The entire idea of it. Simply just being in a warm place this Christmas with friends, even in the middle of the war, would be comforting. The company continued doing drills, and some training, but they had more free time as they remained on stand down at the moment.

" Mama, Mama, can't you see?"

" Mama, Mama, can't you see?"

" What the Airborne's done to me." 

" What the Airborne's done to me."

" Turn, about face. Forward march." The group went through multiple days in the freezing rain, getting used to their new CO Lieutenant Norman Dike, who was practically a mess, but a favorite from Regiment most likely. Catherine had been standing up near Peacock in the rain as the company marched back and forth in front of them, with only 65% strength, mostly being replacements. They were missing multiple people, and Catherine could see as Tab led the platoon on the outside, looking slightly frustrated. She could pick up on his little ticks by now, like when he was angry or pissed. They would be up most nights, checking on the men and women, and then reporting to Dike, who didn't care of seem to have a clue most of the time what the men were doing and that stressed them both out, even though they knew the company would be fine as long as the NCOs held it together the best they could. 

Catherine had heard from Nixon, basically a mid-March action, at the earliest with training for 3 months, and she hadn't thought that it was a bad idea. The company needed rest and training, to forget about the mess of Market-Garden and Holland combined. So, there Catherine sat in Winters' office, in a chair next to Nixon, Harry handing out coffee.

" Easy still has only 65% strength, and most of those are replacements, including their new CO." Winters said, as Catherine looked towards him.

" How's Lieutenant Dike doing?" Nixon asked WInters, as Harry came over with the coffee, handing it out.

" Three weeks in Holland, the guys are already calling him Foxhole Norman." Harry said.

" Oh really," muttered Catherine, as she sipped the coffee, relishing the warmth that filled her bones.

" Well, they're talking about a mid-March action at the earliest, so, we train the guys for three months, we jump into Berlin, we end the war." Nixon said and Catherine glanced towards Winters for his reaction.

" The only thing holding together Easy Company is the NCOs, Tocca men and women and you Catherine." Winters said. Catherine smiled.

" What can I say?" she said, with a smile. 

" Sir, there's a Sergeant Guarnere here to see you." a voice came from the doorway as Zelinski entered. Catherine's' eyes shot open wide as she watched Bill walk in with a limp, and a smirk on his face.

" Look what the train brought in." Harry said with a smirk as Bill saluted, seeing Catherine there. 

" Hey, the daredevil." Nixon said.

" Wild Bill himself." Catherine said sipping her drink.

" Hiya, Captain." Bill said as he limped over.

" Welcome back, Bill." WInters said as the two shook hands, Winters smiling. One of the best NCOs had returned from his joyride. 

" Jesus, it's true. I never thought I'd see you behind a desk, sir." Bill said, and Catherine snorted as Bill shook everyone's hand, but Catherine stood up and hugged the man, gratefully.

" Yeah, and someday he'll sit behind it." Nixon said.

" Won't that be a rare occurrence." Catherine commented and Winters shook his head with a smile.

" Well, I just went AWOL from the hospital to get back here, sir. I hope that's not gonna cause you a problem." Bill said. 

" Would you care if it did?" Winters asked him and Catherine smirked, as she hid it behind sipping her coffee.

" Not a bit, sir." Bill answered, pulling out something from his pocket, " Got a letter for you here from Moose, uh, Lieutenant Heyliger, sir." Winters looked up from what he signed to look at Bill, glancing briefly at Harry. 

" He's recovering but it's gonna be a long haul." Bill stated.

" Thanks, Bill." Winters said, glancing at Harry. Catherine had heard from Harry about that whole fiasco and Gene and Lizzie's blow up. She thought they had every right as medics though with their number one duty to be to save peoples' lives. Catherine glanced at Harry and watched as his bit back his lip worriedly, worry for his friend.

" So, I hear there's gonna be a football game, those chumps from the 5-0 Deuce, is that right? You're throwing yourself in there, Mack?" Bill said and Catherine found a smile return to her face.

" Yeah, yeah, I am." Catherine said with a smirk. 

" Oh, yeah, Christmas Day." Harry said.

" Great, sky train boys." Bill said, looking back at Winters, " Can't wait." It got quiet as Bill glanced at Winters who grew focused on his work.

" Great." Bill said, before glancing at Harry who looked at Bill.

" Well, uh, I'll just got find some trouble." Bill said, with an obvious wink as he saluted Winters. 

" You do that, take Mack with ya." Nixon said as Catherine stood with her drink to follow Bill out as Winters saluted Bill, who then turned away.

" Hey, Bill." Winters said as Bill turned.

" Yes, sir?" Bill asked as Catherine walked towards Bill, looking at Winters.

" No more joyriding, right?" Winters said, and Catherine smirked. Bill nodded, a slight smirk on his face.

" Oh, uh, anybody ever heard of a little joint called, LuLu's?" Bill asked as Catherine glanced at him with a raised brow the other three officers looking at Bill, confused, evidently.

" You got me." Harry said shaking his head. Winters shook his head and Nixon smirked. 

" I'll just ask around." Bill said. And with that Bill turned and nodded to Catherine before the two headed out. When Bill and Catherine got out of the office, Bill immediately wrapped an arm over Catherine's shoulder and pulled her into a side hug.

" Glad I finally got back to this fiasco." Bill said, and Catherine smiled widely.

" Oh, I bet. Take some pressure off of some of the other guys, Dike's been a hassle." Catherine told him and Bill sighed.

" I'd figure as much." Bill muttered as the two laughed. When they arrived in through the flap, Catherine could see Hazel sitting with Liebgott, the two talking quietly, as they held letters in their hands, Lizzie was sitting with Skinny as the two were giggling over something faces red as tomatoes. 

" Guess who's back guys." Catherine called as she entered the tent. Everyone looked up and saw it was Bill, and excitedly jumped up. Joe Toye went running over to his Pennsylvania pal, and shook his hand excitedly.

" Guess that's a signal not to ever go joyriding again right?" Lizzie said when she approached with a smile. 

" You don't gotta worry about that." Bill said with a smile to her as Lizzie smiled.

" You're back!" Hazel said when she approached with Joe and Bill smiled hearing the girl's voice.

" Hey, kid how're you doing?" he asked her, " Still sick?"

" Nope, fever's gone. I'm feeling a lot better." she said with a smile to him. 

" Good, good, that nasty thing did a number on ya." Bill said and Hazel nodded with a smile.

" Hey, y'all!" a voice said and the group turned to see Smokey coming into the tent with a bunch of things in his hands.

" 24 hour passes!" he called. Hazel's eyes widened as Smokey went around sticking passes in peoples' hands. Hazel took the pass in her grasp and stared at it softly. 

Paris. 

Paris, France. 

That's where she wanted to go, and where she figured most of the guys were going.

" So," a voice said and Hazel looked up to see Liebgott waving his pass in front of her, " Paris?" A smile lit up Hazel's face. She nodded. She had mentioned Paris plenty of times to Joe back in Aldbourne and now it seems they finally had the chance to go, and Hazel had never been more excited. 

Hazel was glad to find that Lizzie was heading out with Tab, Shifty and Smokey, the group had to be one of the funniest little groups but they meshed so well together and had a funny dynamic. 

Catherine was going with Bill, Joe Toye, Babe and George as well as Perconte. Boy would the stories be filled with chaos when they came back. Hazel was just excited to finally be getting out of the camp and to civilization, to Paris, where there was a bit more freedom than that of what the camp provided. 

Joe Liebgott was currently _dragging_ Hazel Parker, the tiny sniper with barely enough leg to sprint, through the streets of Paris, which were filled with Parisian people. And those Parisian people offered the weirdest looks. Finally Joe stopped in front of a cross walk where cars were.

" Did we come here just so you could drag me through Paris until my hand fell off?" she asked him and slapped his arm. Joe laughed.

" 'Course not," Joe murmured with a wink, but she smacked him again.

" So, where are we going again?" Hazel asked, as Joe's hand held hers gently in his bigger one. 

" You'll see." he said with a smirk. Hazel raised a brow as they raced over the cross walk before Joe eventually stopped and turned to look up towards the shop they were next to. Hazel slowly followed his gaze and her eyes widened. They were at a French Chocolate Shop. Hazel looked up at Joe her eyes wide, like golf balls.

" Come on." Joe said, and Hazel smiled. Joe opened the door and Hazel stepped inside and all she could smell was chocolate. There was chocolate everywhere and it was glorious. Hazel looked at Joe who stepped in beside her and smirked at her.

" What do you want?" he asked her. Hazel smiled like a giddy teenager and stepped forward to look at what was in the cases. She bent down crouched in her uniform skirt and stared at the case, there were just so many cases filled with different chocolate assortments. Her mind was exploding. Joe slowly crouched beside her in his own uniform.

" I'm looking at that almond cluster." Joe said, as Hazel looked towards him.

" Almond cluster?" Hazel asked, rather innocently.

" You know, a bunch of almonds dipped in chocolate?" he said, Hazel titled her head. Joe stood and Hazel followed.

" Can I have an almond cluster please?" Joe asked the man behind the counter who nodded and stooped down to pick one out. He handed it to Hazel with a smile and Hazel took it. She looked at it before biting into it. Her eyes widened as Liebgott snickered and then she shoved the entire thing into her mouth and her eyes widened further. It was delicious. Joe laughed at her as she swallowed the food and she smirked at him as she wiped the corner's of her mouth.

" That was so good." she said, licking her lips and glancing back at the window. 

" How about some fudge?" Joe suggested. Hazel's eyes widened and she nodded. Her and Joe spent about an hour looking through chocolates and picking others out before heading back out into the crisp air and the slightly warm sunshine. Hazel had gotten some chocolate for Catherine and Lizzie, as well, they both deserved it. 

They ate lunch by the Seine river, at a little shop that sold macarons as well. Hazel most definitely got a chocolate one and it tasted delicious. After lunch the sun came out fully again and Hazel spotted an artist on the side of the street, where a bunch of people stood around watching him draw. Hazel's eyes widened in adoration.

" Look, Joe." Hazel said pointing and Joe stopped and followed her pointed figure. 

" Wanna try it out?" Joe asked her and she looked up at him with a smile. He grinned as they hurriedly raced across the street and approached the artist. Hazel slowly stepped forward watching as the charcoal in his hand performed gentle brush strokes against the paper, his hand smooth, gliding over the page, without any smudges. 

It was so graceful. 

Hazel watched as he finished the portrait of the beautiful French woman and then showed it to her. Hazel thought that the old man drawing just loved seeing the smiles on peoples' faces when he finished; she adored that. The old man then turned to her, and spotted her uniform. American. 

A gentle, wise smile struck his face, similar to that of Lieutenant Winters. He gently made a show of pointing towards the chair. Hazel smiled at him and then stepped forward, taking a seat on the stool before facing the man. The old man studied her, his eyes filled with an artistic passion and creative light that Hazel admired. Then he began drawing. Hazel glanced towards Joe who stood behind him, watching her with a smirk on his face. 

If Joe thought that the word happiness and golden was a person, it had to be the epitome of Hazel. The sun was hitting her just right, making her hair appear golden even in the chilling cold, and her cheeks were slightly rosy, her dimples were showing with the shy smile she always wore, and the corners of her eyes were crinkled up. He always knew a genuine smile was one when the corners of anyone's eyes crinkled. 

A small smile remained on Joe's face as he glanced down, watching the man continuing to draw the woman. The old man drew with ease and pleasure, seemingly already knowing every freckle on her face and every curve that was ever present on her body. Joe watched as Hazel met his eyes and he could see the laugh forming behind them, but she held it as the old man continued drawing. The old French artist continued drawing until he took a few more strokes across the page with ease and finished off the picture, with a tiny signature in the corner. Hazel watched as the artist held up the picture, a wise smile upon his face as he showed Hazel.

" Oh, it's beautiful!" Hazel gasped as she stood and came forward, and crouching in front of the man with a smile. 

" You very beautiful." the artist said, as he nodded and smiled at her, handing her the art work. Hazel blushed, and smiled as she looked down at the art.

" Merci." Hazel said softly and the artist nodded at her with a smile. Hazel slowly stood with the art in her hands and stepped around toward Joe to show him the picture. Joe took the picture in his hands and smiled at it before glancing at her. 

He thought the artwork was beautiful, but he'd never tell her, but Hazel was artwork in it of herself and not just on the service layer but each and every layer that made up Hazel Parker.

" Merci." Hazel called to the artist, giving a tiny wave before her and Joe were off again. Hazel looked at the picture again and smiled. He had seemed to capture her in that very moment; Hazel had never seen something drawn more beautifully.

" Cute accent." Joe muttered beside her, and Hazel bumped his shoulder with a smirk.

" Shut up." she muttered, shaking her head. Hazel and Joe walked along one of the busier roads, where trees lined the sides, their leaves long ago having fallen off, but with little Christmas wreaths hanging on them and lights strung up in them. The little shops along the street, had a soft glow of lights and warmth exuding from each one and each one Hazel looked in, she saw happy people inside, living their lives happily. It was nice to see. 

Hazel saw couples on the street; French soldiers with French women, older couples, middle aged couples with children, skipping about. It was all so peaceful, it made Hazel smile softly. The sun was setting soon, as the sky changed from light blue to pinks, yellows, oranges and reds, fading into a darkening blue to purple. The sky never failed to amaze her where ever she went. Night time was growing near and their dinner reservation was as well as they walked through the lit up streets as night drew closer.

" Why'd you want to go with me to Paris and not the other guys?" Hazel asked him.

" I don't know, why did you come with me and not the other girls?" Joe questioned with a smirked. Hazel smirked slightly.

" I'll go first, you're my best friend. We do stuff like this, we're spontaneous, so we up and go to Paris." Joe said and Hazel laughed. 

" Best friend privileges, Joe Liebgott." Hazel said with a smile on her face.

" That's right." Joe said a smile adorning his lips. 

Hazel adored his toothy grin, she'd never told him though. He always smiled around her, never anyone else. She was his soft spot. 

Everyone knew it too. 


	64. the dinner conversation

" It's amazing how one little conversation can change everything."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

They ate dinner at a restaurant where a large mass of other soldiers also were. It seemed designated for soldiers in that moment. Hazel and Joe had a spot inside, in the corner, where they could hear the Christmas music, being played over the speakers in French, and they could smell the wonderful food that had a wonderful scent that wafted throughout the entire building. Joe looked at Hazel from over the table as she looked out the window and out towards the stars. Tiny candles were lit on the table, with a clean white cloth underneath it and tiny little flecks of pine tree sprinkled amongst it, giving off a Christmas feel.

" I see Cassiopeia." Hazel said, leaning against the table, and glancing toward Joe with wide, blue eyes. Joe smirked from behind his hands which held up his head.

" You and your stars." Joe said as Hazel smirked at him before looking out at the sky filled with stars. 

" How's your mom been?" Joe asked Hazel. Mail call had come yesterday and Hazel had supposedly written back plenty of times talking about her friends, including Joe himself, from what she had said.

" She's been doing pretty well. She said for Christmas that she's hoping to invite some friends over of ours, that have sons in the military and are overseas. I just feel bad, it's my 3rd Christmas from home." Hazel said, " And my mom's been through a lot, she's one of the strongest women I know. This pains her because she knows I could die any day out here." Joe watched Hazel bit back her lip and sigh softly. 

" I'm sure she's proud though, knowing what her daughter is doing." Joe said, and then Hazel watched a tiny smile quirk on his face again, " I mean you were apart of the WAC, and then you became part of Virago Company and now you're a paratrooper in Easy. If anything that's badass." Hazel grinned.

" What's she like?" Joe asked her. 

" Well, ok," Hazel said, sitting up straighter and holding her hands out in front of her, " imagine me, ok? And close your eyes."

" I could've just kept them open because you're right in front of me-"

" Joseph."

" Right, carry on." Joe shut his eyes. 

" So, me, but older, with some wrinkles around the eyes. Around the corners of the mouth, from smiling mostly. And her hair's blonde, sort of a dirty-blonde, more golden color, and bright blue eyes, that hold so much joy in them, you would never suspect they had gone through as much pain as they did, and a jolly laugh, kinda like Santa Claus, it can get a full room laughing. A slight accent, mainly from Polish speaking, but such a beautiful smile, and a powerful stature, a commanding one, one you don't want to mess with. And she's tough too, complete opposite of me. I've never seen her get really emotional, even when I left home." Hazel said, " Bravest woman I know." Joe smiled, eyes still closed.

" What about you, Joe?" Hazel asked as Joe slowly fluttered his eyes open to look at her. 

" Mama Liebgott?" Joe asked her and Hazel laughed, nodding.

" Your family really," Hazel said and Joe smiled. 

" Well, moms the best, but you already know that," Joe said and Hazel smiled, leaning her head against the palm of her hand which was propped up by her elbow.

" Skinny guys like me weren't exactly the ones who became friends with everyone, and I was picked on a bit, I'd get a bit roughed up too, you know, fights and stuff. But I stood my ground, it's the Liebgott way, I guess," Joe said and Hazel smiled, " but I'd go home, the angry tears would start. But Mom was there. She was always there, you know her hugs and stuff, the chocolate." 

" It's like a comfort food." Hazel said with a tiny smile. Joe smiled at her as he ran a hand through his fluffy hair. He nodded.

" She always took care of me well, I hate that I disappointed her the way I did." Joe said. Hazel frowned a bit.

" I wouldn't say that." Hazel said, " You joined to fight a war, I'd say that's anything but a disappointment." Joe felt a smile fall over his face.

" You always know the right words to say, Parker." Joe told her. Hazel smiled softly.

" It's because I had to tell myself those things when no one else could." Hazel said. Joe met her eye. He raised a brow.

" Your food?" a voice said and the two looked up to see the waiter delivering their plates of food. 

" Oh, merci!" Hazel said as the hot food was placed in front of them. The waiter nodded and then walked away.

" What do you mean?" Joe asked her. 

" Just, stuff from my past, I guess." Hazel said, " It made me stronger. So now I guess I just have that stuff in my brain." Joe smiled.

" I wouldn't say I was the most admired quiet girl in school either. I cried a lot," Hazel said nodding as she tapped her fingers against her coke can, " I got over it though. I tried making friends. I wasn't too good at it." 

" I'd say you're pretty good at it." Joe said, with a lazy smirk and Hazel smiled.

" I guess, I mean it wasn't like I was adored or anything, I was just quiet and reserved and people didn't like those types of people in school." Hazel said shyly. She'd never told anyone that. 

" I adore you." Joe said, and Hazel glanced towards him. He smirked at the blush on her cheeks.

" Ah, every time." Joe said sipping his beer. 

" You just do that to make me blush and you know it." Hazel said as she narrowed her eyes. Joe just laughed as Hazel shook her head.

" What are your sisters like though? Mary, Elizabeth, Anna and Barbara, right?" Hazel asked him and Joe smiled. 

" Me in girl form, basically." Joe said and Hazel smiled, " But the nicest, probably like you, is Mary. She's a bit younger than me and she's like a mother. Kind, supportive, she actually listened to me at the dinner table." Hazel laughed.

" But if you want a carbon copy of me, Elizabeth would be it." Joe said and Hazel smiled with a nod. 

" Brought home a boy once, said one wrong thing and she sent him out the door. She didn't even shed a tear. She's crazy." Joe said and Hazel laughed.

" I wish I had siblings, they seem fun." Hazel said. Joe snickered.

" Not until they're all teenagers and well..." the tops of Joe's cheeks turned pink and Hazel laughed.

" I know what you mean." she said giggling. 

" What about Anna?" Hazel asked.

" Intelligent, like really smart, but she swears like a sailor, christ, I mean my mom whooped her more than the rest of us." Joe said and Hazel giggled, making Joe smirked. 

" And Barbara?" Hazel asked.

" When she was a kid, all she wanted were the fanciest clothes, she always was telling my ma about some boy she liked in elementary school, or she was always hanging around with her gaggle of girlfriends." Joe said, " You know, drama and stuff." Hazel nodded. 

" But Dad, man, he rarely allowed a boy in the house. There was one guy Josie brought home, complete asshole." Joe said, " And you know me, no poker face, so dinner was a mess." Hazel giggled though. Joe was right, he had absolutely no poker face.

" And Stephen? Isn't he your little brother?" Hazel asked him. Joe smirked.

" Picture me as a kid." Joe said and Hazel smiled softly.

" No, no, no you're making the 'oh it's cute' face, not that thing is evil." Joe said as Hazel laughed, " Carbon copy, but like, evil." Hazel laughed again. 

" Well, your family still sounds so nice." Hazel said with a grin and Joe smirked at her.

" It's ok, you can call them crazy." Joe said, smirking at her. Hazel's eyes softened and she scoffed.

" I would never say that." she said, giving Joe's shoulder a shove from across the table and shaking her head.

" You ever think about what you want to do after the war?" Joe asked her and Hazel glanced his way, biting her lip. 

" Sometimes." she said with a nod, placing down her fork, " But usually I just try to forget about it, ya know? There's no guarantee I'll make it back."

" Aw c'mon now, don't say that. What do you got in mind?" Joe asked her. Hazel glanced at him.

" I'm all ears." he said with a smile.

" Well," Hazel said, nibbling on her lip, " I guess, when I got back home, I'd go to college, because I've always wanted to go and for math, but you know that. And then I'd get a job somewhere afterwards, where I can put those strengths to use, maybe teacher, I don't know. Then I'll settle down, have a family, live in a beautiful house like my mother's. Live my life, try to forget the war." Hazel looked at him and smiled afterwards. 

" What about you Joe?" Hazel asked him as he smirked at her.

" Similar, but I'll head back to Frisco, do cabbing again, cut people's hair again, then I'll find someone, ya know, and settle down, in a nice house, of course, and have a bunch of little Liebgotts." Joe said and Hazel giggled.

" Is that what you're calling them?" Hazel said through a laugh as Joe began to chuckle.

" Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Joe said, as even the tops of his cheeks dusted pink a bit. 

" It was funny." Hazel said, as she giggled to herself, before picking up another piece of food on her fork. Joe smirked at her. He watched as she ate, she was so delicate. But he'd seen her on the field, it was like a light switch would turn on, and she became the most fierce person out there.

" Hey, I uh, I forgot to thank you for what you did back on the Island." Joe said leaning forward. Hazel glanced his way, a tiny smile on her face.

" You know, hugging me. It made me feel better." Joe said, answering the confused look on her face. She then smiled.

" Of course, don't worry about it. Hugging actually lets out 'happy-juice' if you call it that. Hugs are a good thing and everyone deserves them." Hazel said and Joe's eyes softened, she smiled. 

" My mom gives pretty good hugs and she'd always call it 'happy-juice' it made me feel better." Hazel said with a tiny smile.

" So that's where you get it from." Joe said as he leaned back in his chair with a proud smirk. Hazel smiled and nodded.

" If you want to call it that." Hazel said, and Joe smirked wider, as he finished off his plate of food, Hazel still slowly making her way through the plate. She was a slow eater.

" You remind me a lot of my dziadek." Hazel told Joe and he glanced at her gently. 

" He used to tell me stories all the time of his youth in Poland, in Warsaw specifically," Hazel said, " he was the skinny guy, the 'loud-mouth' as he called it, and he was a loyal friend. Like someone I know." Hazel glanced at Joe who smiled softly.

" It's probably why I trusted you as much as I did in the first place, you're a lot like him." Hazel said, her smile innocent. 

" You said he was Jewish?" Joe asked her. Hazel nodded.

" He met my grandmother who was also from Poland at this one night club where a bunch of polish immigrants would meet up on the weekends and just hang out. He said he always wore the Star of David, the one that I have now, and he wore it proudly. He told me he specifically remembers seeing my grandmother from across the dance floor, probably talking to someone else and going up and asking her to dance. And she did. Then of course, they fell in love, but my dziadek adored by babcia so much that he switched to Catholic, for her. After the war broke out, it saddened him what was happening to his Jewish Community." Hazel said softly and glanced at Joe, who let it all sink in. Joe knew how important her family was to her, and in how many different ways it was important. 

" He always let me dance with him in church and sometimes even when he and babcia would come over. He put something on the radio and we'd just dance," Hazel said, as she looked at the table cloth.

" I miss that." Hazel said softly. Joe smiled softly at her, watching Hazel zone out for a second.

" Is that why you don't like dancing?" Joe asked her. Hazel looked up at him quickly, and swallowed. He deserved to know the truth after telling her so much about him.

" No actually, I loved dancing with my dziadek." Hazel said with a small smile, " The reason I haven't danced yet is because, um..." Hazel looked off into the restaurant of loud people talking and laughing. Joe watched her, he knew this was hard for her, just by the strain that was evident across her entire face. 

" Hey," Joe said leaning forward, " if you don't want to tel me, you don't have to."

" It's ok, you've told me so much about yourself, that you deserve to know." Hazel promised him, and Joe softly nodded. 

" I told you my dad left when I was 8, but you don't know the whole story. When I was 8, it was Christmas Eve. And Christmas for me was always fun, because the food was good there was family, a Christmas tree, I loved it all. Even during the Depression, I learned to love the little things, I guess you can say that's why I appreciate the stars the way I do, " Hazel said and Joe smiled at her, looking at her eyes, " but my father didn't appreciate the little things." Joe frowned.

" He was the one who would always dance with me in church when my dziadek didn't and it was always some of the best times of my life. But, I guess, the Depression got to be too much for him. He started drinking around, waisting money, so some nights there was no dinner on the table, he started sleeping around," Hazel whispered, shaking her head, and Joe's eyes narrowed, " he just wasn't in a good spot I guess. So on Christmas Eve, he came home, started yelling at my mom about the finances. I was only 8, confused and naive, so when he started yelling at me, I could only cry. Then he stormed out, taking beer with him, leaving Christmas Eve ruined. It forced me to really grow up at that age." Joe was watching her, his heart racing.

" It's why I was never a huge Christmas fan because it just brought back all those memories, and it was also the reason I didn't like to dance." Hazel said, and put a strand of hair behind her ear, nervously.

" He sent me a letter, back in June before the jump, asking for correspondence." Hazel said and shook her head, biting her lip, " I sent him one back, but I never want to talk to him again. He started a new family, seemingly without a care in the world. I can't, I can't associate myself with someone who leaves their family who just tried to love him." Joe looked at Hazel and saw her forcing down the emotions that overwhelmed her system. 

Joe felt bad for bringing it up, even in the middle of a restaurant. But Joe, he was also tense and angry. A man, Hazel's blood-related father left his family during the Depression, on Christmas Eve when she was just a kid, because he couldn't take it all. He left people who loved him, who cared about him and cherished him. He left because he couldn't handle it and he was selfish. How could someone have a child and then leave her behind, leave his family, leave someone like Hazel behind? Joe looked back at Hazel.

" Hazel," Joe said, reaching across the table, to grasp her hand in his. Hazel looked at their hands before glancing at Joe, with a small sad smile. Joe looked down at their hands and gently brushed his thumb across her hand.

" I can never understand, the pain you went through, but I promise you that Catherine and Lizzie? The guys? Me? I, we, won't ever leave you behind, you're too important. I'm sorry that all that happened to you at the age it did, you were just a kid." Joe said, watching her. Hazel softly smiled, and nodded.

" You don't have to apologize for it, Joe, it just happened, and I grew used to it." Hazel admitted. Joe's eyes were gentle in her gaze.

" You know, you're one of the strongest women I know?" Joe said, and Hazel's cheeks turned a bit pink as he said that. She never would've thought of herself as strong in anyway, she was just Hazel.

" Thanks, Joe." Hazel said, as she glanced up at him shyly. Joe didn't want her to go to bed that night, feeling like she should've not told him that, because he had listened to each and every word that had left her lips. 

" I want you to know that I appreciate each word you said, " Joe said quietly, " because I know it was hard for you, and I want to make sure you knew that." Hazel smiled, and she forced down the tears that wanted to well in her eyes as Joe said that. No one had ever said they appreciated her words. It did get her emotional if she thought about it for a while.

" Thank you, Joe." Hazel said, " No one's ever told me that before." Joe smiled. 

" I'm glad I could be the first." Joe said and Hazel smiled, wider.

" Excuse me?" a voice said and Joe brought back his hand as the waiter stood there, " Would you like desert?" Hazel's eyes widened as she glanced at Joe. He nodded.

" Yes, please." Hazel said and the waiter smiled and nodded.

" Here is the menu." he said and handed it to her, letting her look at it. 

" The chocolate cake? Is it good?" Hazel asked him.

" Yes, madam." the waiter said and Hazel grinned.

" That will be fine." Hazel said and then glanced at Joe.

" I'm fine, stuffed myself with chocolate, I'll probably steal some bites from you." Joe said and Hazel giggled as the waiter nodded and walked away.

" You are not stealing any from me, Mr." Hazel said with a smirk. 

" Nah, I'm just kidding," Joe said as Hazel smiled, " maybe."

" You suck." Hazel said, kicking his foot under the table. Joe raised a brow and smirked at her, as she laughed. 

" You challenging me, Parker?" Joe said as Hazel giggled.

" Your cake." the waiter said, placing down the plate in front of her.

" Merci." Hazel said, looking again at the cake with wide eyes.

" And, this is also for you." the waiter said, placing a chocolate macaron in front of her.

" What?" Hazel asked, looking at it, " I didn't order that."

" He wanted you to have it." the waiter said pointing over to a table of American soldiers. He was pointing to a brown-haired, blue eyed man smiling at her. Hazel blushed furiously.

" Oh, thank you." she managed out. The waiter then turned to Joe, who had been looking towards the other soldier, with slightly narrowed eyes.

" Would you like to pay now, monsieur?" 

" Uh, yeah." Joe said, and pulled out the wallet in his pocket, where some American money was. Hazel watched as Joe paid, but she stared at the macaron in front of her before glancing at the American soldier who supposedly had wanted to give the macaron to her. It was her favorite flavor. She knew she wouldn't finish all this though. The waiter brought a box just in case, as Hazel took a bite of the cake.

" Whoa." Hazel said, her eyes wide.

" Is it good?" Joe asked her and she nodded. Joe leaned forward, to take a bite with his own fork. His eyes widened.

" Whoa." he said and Hazel smiled at nodding. 

" It's really good." Joe said and Hazel giggled.

" I might save the macaron. I can't finish all this." Hazel said. Hazel watched Joe glance over his shoulder a bit before glancing back at her. He didn't saying anything. Hazel guessed, that there was possibly a bit of jealousy for Joe. He was loyal to his friends and protective, he usually was always keeping an eye out even if it was the tiniest, nice thing. Hazel appreciated that though. 

The two ended up saving the cake as well for later, and eventually left the restaurant. When they got outside, Joe placed the bag of chocolate and the box down and turned and wrapped Hazel in a hug. It was warm and comforting and it felt so safe.

" I just, I needed to hug you." Joe said and Hazel smiled.

" I wasn't lying when I said you are one of the strongest women I know." Joe said to her and Hazel grinned softly, hugging him close, resting her head against his chest, relishing the comfort the hug offered. Joe pulled back and looked at her. 

" We should go somewhere." Joe said and Hazel quirked a raised brow at him.

" Where?" Hazel asked him curiously.

" Follow me." Joe said, picking up the cake and the chocolate, and hurrying forward. Hazel laughed and followed after him into the dark streets of Paris. The two ran through the fairly empty streets of Paris, the bag of chocolates in one hand as they did so, running under the darkness of the night, until they came upon the Effiel Tower. They stopped, slightly breathless as Hazel looked up at the mighty symbol of Paris. Her eyes were wide as the lights of the Effiel Tower reflected into her eyes. She met Joe's eyes and he smirked at her. 

The two hurried up the steps, up to the level above the city, but not to the top. That was far. Hazel walked towards the edge, and leaned against the railing with wide eyes. Her eyes couldn't take it all in she felt. She looked out and all she could see were the lights of Paris. The city of lights. Hazel's eyes were so wide, full of light and love and warmth. She felt comforted looking out from the top of the Effiel Tower, just seeing all the lights, and the hope that filled the sky. Her heart felt full and she felt herself as she looked out on all the beauty. She wished she could just stand up here, staring out at the city forever, getting to take it all in. 

Suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her waist and warm breath on her neck.

" It's beautiful isn't it?" Joe said in her ear. 

" Very." Hazel said. Then she looked up, she could see all the stars, shining down, their bright twinkling lights never fading from sight.

" Why'd you bring me up here?" Hazel asked, as her eyes stayed on the bright shimmers of the stars. 

" You can see the stars better, I know you like the stars." Joe said, and she smiled as she glanced towards him with shimmering eyes. She loved the stars.

" You can see so many." Hazel said her eyes wide with wonder. She always could find the stars where ever she was. 

" Why do you like the stars so much? You always look at them." Joe asked her. Hazel looked over at him and then up at the stars again.

" Stars are always there, even when light isn't." Hazel said with a small smile his way. Joe smiled at her. 

" You're cold." he said, as his warm breath sent goosebumps over her skin.

" It's cold." she said softly as Joe pulled her closer to him in his arms in the bear hug. 

" Does San Francisco look like this at night?" she asked quietly, as Joe glanced toward her, a hair flying in her face.

" Yeah, exactly like this." he said, and watched as her eyes widened and shined brightly. A small smile grew on her face. 

" It's so beautiful, all of it." Hazel whispered.

" Yeah, yeah it is." Joe said. Hazel couldn't stop her cheeks from turning red as she continued to look out at the city and it's lights, with Joe's arms tightly wrapped around her waist, his head sitting right near her shoulder. She felt she couldn't have been happier in this moment, and she had no clue why. She could hear the faint Christmas music playing from the speaker at the area they were at. The last time she'd heard Christmas music had been in London in 1943, with George Luz as they looked out at Big Ben and talked about their first Christmas not in America. _  
_

_Have yourself, a merry little Christmas_

_Let your heart be light_

_Next year all our troubles will be out of sight_

Hazel swallowed thickly, as she listened to the soft Christmas song playing. She missed her home, where she would sit under the glowing Christmas tree, watching all the lights twinkle, the little presents hidden in every nook and cranny around it, the crackling fireplace which exuded heat and the campfire smell, and the gentle radio of Christmas music in the background as her mother started on Christmas breakfast. Hazel missed that so much. Instead, she was in a war, that she'd be stuck in until it was over. The thing she did manage to enjoy was that Joe was here and he was here with her, standing right there. 

" I miss Christmas, Joe." Hazel whispered, her voice broken as she spoke. Hazel looked over at him to find him already watching her.

" I know you do." Joe said, with a small smile. Joe watched as Hazel sighed and then looked back out at Paris and the stars, looking sadder than when they first came up. 

" Did you wanna dance?" Joe asked her, gently giving her a squeeze around the waist. Hazel turned and glanced at Joe. She really wanted to and Joe knew that. And Hazel knew she could trust Joe. She nodded. 

Leading her away from the railing, Joe gently grasped her hand, while placing the other on her hip. Hazel glanced up at him nervously, before placing a hand on his shoulder and then meeting his eyes. It was like there were a thousand stars in his own eyes. Hers widened. Then they just started swaying to the music, as Joe lead. Hazel couldn't continue to hold his gaze, so she just rested her head against his chest, and shut her eyes for a moment, as her and Joe gently swayed to the music. She hadn't dance in 12 years. She had refused to, but now, Joe had awoken the beast inside of her who had always loved the art of dancing. She wished she could dance forever. 

" Thank you, Joe." Hazel whispered, " For tonight." She knew Joe was smiling.

" Of course, anything." Joe said and she smiled. 

Her smile could light up a room. 

In that moment, right then and there, Joe knew he was _screwed_. 

He had screwed himself over big time. He thought back to the moment he had first met Hazel, the girl who didn't even seem to care that he had put up a cold and shut off face when he introduced himself. She had just simply shaken his hand and let the world's wisdom fall from her mouth. 

He never admitted it to anyone, but he had been the one to develop a tiny crush, the teeniest, tiniest, _crush_. 

Yes a crush. There he had said it. _Well thought it._

A small crush on a girl who seemed to make sunflowers grow in her presence, or who could make all the children looks towards her with shining eyes, or even make the tiniest baby laugh. 

And he was so hopelessly in love. 

He didn't know what he had deserved to be standing here with Hazel Parker, and those freckles that sprinkled across her face, or the way her eyes lit up as she talked about the stars, the passion that was there, or maybe it was even the way she smiled so shyly, making it so genuine, and the little dimples that appeared, one in each cheek. 

Joe bashed himself constantly for loving a girl like her, for going as far as having a thought like that. 

As a boy, a teenager really, girls were the last thing he thought about, even though he never seemed to get them off his back. And he kinda went along with it, and admittedly just went around with them for fun.

It was cliche, he knew it, like those old Hollywood movies, but Hazel was just different. She'd always been. And he constantly said it. She liked the little things in life, and even the smallest things made her laugh and when she cared she truly cared and she was truly such a fascinating person to just be with because she would talk about the wildest things. Joe never had a boring moment with her. 

But now, with this new found feeling, he had to hide it, bury it, dig it six feet down into a grave and bury it, patting it down up until the point nothing could escape. He couldn't let on a thing to anyone. 

She was more than just a dream. 

He didn't want to say anything because he was sure the other guys would start pulling jokes and embarrassing him. Best friends for now was fine. But the crush had stayed at a low boil, it was just a simple crush. He told himself he'd get over - _he had to_. But now, standing here with the woman in his arms, his best friend, he suddenly thought that maybe, just maybe she wasn't just his best friend anymore. 

Joe's eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat. 

He hoped Hazel hadn't felt it. 

Joe felt a bead of sweat along his brow even in the cold night. 

He was falling harder for Hazel Parker than he had ever fallen for anyone in his life.

Oh. 

_Oh no._


	65. heart to heart

" Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you."

_\- Misty Copeland_

✰✰✰

When Hazel and Joe got back to Mourmelon-le-Grand, everyone was starting to arrive back from their trips to Paris or Reims or other French-famous towns with stories, gifts, and memories to last a lifetime. 

Supposedly the group of Lizze, Tab, Shifty and Smokey, had gotten drunk in Paris and were nearly tripping over each other as they got into the hotel room. The retelling had to be the funniest story of the night and watching Lizzie looking so happy and so joyful brought a smile to many people's faces. She had been at her low in the hospital and even though Gene was the only one to know about her diagnoses, she didn't let on anymore about it. it was for the best. So being with the guys for a bit, brought some joy back and forgetting the war for a night was exactly what she had needed. 

The days she felt started to blend together with Christmas being so different this year. They were in a completely different country, on an Army base, fighting a war that they didn't start. The days grew shorter and colder and Hazel found herself sleeping more and more, which she was happy about because she gratefully was taking Gene's advice, but she grew so exhausted from too much sleeping. 

Hazel and Shifty grabbed their weapons and began heading towards the tent where they could clean their weapons. Virtually no one else was there, so they were able to move into a spot and start washing their weapons together, chatting quietly. Hazel grew concentrated on cleaning her weapon. 

Since they predicted no action until mid-March, Hazel wanted to make sure that since her weapon wasn't going to be used, she didn't want it getting rusty and peeling. But Shifty was the same way with his own weapon, so that's why they worked well together. Tab eventually wandered in about 15 minutes later, and looking exhausted; everyone continually looked exhausted around camp today.

" You okay, Tab?" Hazel asked him, as he huffed sitting down next to her, pulling his weapon into his lap.

" Just peachy." he answered.

" You looked exhausted." Hazel said worriedly. 

" I guess that's just my normal face." Tab answered exhaustedly.

" And sound more sarcastic than normal." Shifty said and Hazel giggled, as Tab let out a huff. He then placed his head on Hazel's shoulder and shut his eyes.

" If I can get two minutes of damn sleep, I'll be happier, promise." he said. Hazel looked down at him, almost asleep and raised a brow slightly confused, but Shifty just shrugged and went back to cleaning his weapon. Like that, Tab was out like a light, slightly snoring. Hazel looked down at Tab with sympathy, as his exhausted state continued on resting. 

Everyone was exhausted, but as the days to Christmas grew closer, they started playing movies at night for the company to watch, and it started snowing every night. Everyone was finally starting to fall into a pattern where there was no war to fight and all they had to worry about was the football game on Christmas Day. 

Catherine visited WInters and Nixon after the trip to Paris. She hurried up the walkway towards his office and then opened the door to his office, popping her head in with a smile.

" Hey," she said and noticed it was just Winters behind the desk. 

" Hey, Catherine," Winters said, as Zelinski handed him another paper. Winters sighed, signing the paper again.

" What's up?" Winters asked her, not looking up as he signed yet another paper. 

" How was Paris?" she asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee and then sat down in a chair nearby getting comfortable.

" It was nice." Winters said, as he sighed again signing another paper. 

" Zelinski." Catherine said, the man and Winters looking up at her.

" Can you just give me a second?" she asked him. Zelinski nodded, before turning and walking out the door with a bundle of papers. Winters turned to look at her with soft eyes.

" What?" he asked as he looked back down at the papers.

" Paris! How was it?" she asked him. 

" Well, had a drink near the Effiel Tower, enjoyed the views. Got a chair shoved into me as I was drinking that drink." Winters said, as he placed down his pen and sat back. Catherine raised a brow.

" Is that sarcasm?" she asked.

" Yeah, you and Nix have been a bit to influential." Winters said and Catherine smirked proudly.

" What about you? Where'd you go?" Winters asked her.

" Went with a few of the guys. It was nice to get away from the war for a little bit." Catherine said. 

" I agree." Winters said. 

" Do you think there won't be action until March?" Catherine asked Winters asked he sipped his coffee. Winters' shoulders sagged a bit and he seemed to shrug, like he was confused.

" I'm not sure, the war changes every day." Winters said, as he picked up a map and then handed it to the girl. She let her eyes look over it and realized it was new movements from the Germans who were operating close by to where they had previously evacuated from Holland.

" All that time spent there?" Catherine asked Winters, who nodded, " Shit."

" No one's really sure what might happen in the moment, but I've ordered the COs to keep quiet around the enlisted. Not to jump to conclusions about anything." Winters said.

" But just to have a sense of preparedness." Catherine said with an agreeing nod as Winters nodded.

" Anticipation's better than surprise." Catherine commented, as she handed the map back to Winters.

" Glad we fit Paris in then, just incase something happens." Catherine said.

" Yeah," Winters said, as he leaned back in the chair and glanced out the window. 

" How's Dike been?" Winters asked her. She'd been assisting more with the company. Even though she was a Lieutenant, she was once intermixed with Easy Company, she was just assigned more jobs now in Battalion like writing reports. She stuck with Easy though mostly, staying by Peacock's side like a 2nd in command as well. 

She got plenty of observation of Dike, enough to talk to Nixon about it everyday. 

Dike had asked about the medics one day, and Lizzie and Gene and Spina had come running, but then Dike said he meant that he needed the mortar squad. He'd gotten his m's mixed up supposedly, but Lizzie was pissed and supposedly went off to Gene about it. Dike had asked for Catherine to come forward and address Easy, but she had to ask him about what to address the company with. He didn't have an answer, and Catherine had met Bull's eyes in the group and he had shaken his head. Dike had asked for Tab to march the company, he didn't give a where or when, so Tab had been pissed. 

Dike had asked 'the sniper' to come forward, and when Hazel did, he asked who what she was doing. She had answered that she was the sniper and Dike seemed rather confused. He had questioned her authority as Hazel had stood there, clutching her rifle in her hands. Catherine had to hold Tab back from intervening with it, because the whole situation earlier had already pissed him off greatly.

" Interesting." Catherine answered, with a slow nod. Winters raised a brow.

" What happened?" he asked her, sitting up.

" Well," Catherine said, holding her coffee in her hands and drumming her fingers against the cup, " I've been 2nd in command to Peacock, and I've gotten to observe a few things." 

" Peacock saying anything?" Winters asked her.

" We've discussed a few things, he's been a bit hesitant to really say anything about it because half the time Dike's up his ass about stuff, but Peacock usually has to fix things after Dike does it." Catherine explained. Winters visibly grimaced a bit.

" Dike tried telling Hazel she wasn't the sniper," Catherine said and Winters raised a brow, " Tab got pissed, went to Peacock afterwards. Peacock tried to tell Dike, but Dike was adamant that someone named Harold Parker was the sniper. He had misheard Peacock supposedly. I'm not sure, the entire thing was weird." Winters nodded, seemingly taking it in.

" Peacock, Buck, Shames and I get a bunch of stuff rolled down to us from him because he can't take care of it. Then it rolls to Lipton and Tab. It's kind of a mess, but the NCOs have been a great help, holding the group together as best they could." Catherine said.

" I agree, Catherine. The NCOs are Toccoa men and women, men and women who have been with Easy from the start, like Guarnere or Grant or Toye." Winters said and Catherine nodded.

" I talked to Joe, Joe Toye, the other day about it all," Catherine started, " and you know he's all about the company and making sure everyone's treated the same, stuff like that. He had to keep Dike from trying to reprimand one of the new replacements for no reason. Yapping about how the replacement showing up to the wrong formation even though it was the right one, stuff like that. Joe got him smiling though. It's just, they're trying their best with Dike. We all are." 

" I know you all are, especially the NCOs and the men and women who have been there since the beginning. Dike just seems to be taking time to adjust to it." Winters said with a nod, and Catherine nodded knowing he was probably right.

" Yeah," Catherine said, " you're right." 

After Joe's mental confession to himself as him and Hazel stood on top of the Effiel Tower, he attempted to remain as normal around her as he could and she suspected nothing. But he never failed to cast her a longing gaze as she laughed with Shifty, one of her closest friends, or when she was with the girls and the 3 women would be off playing some game with a ball which they learned at Camp Athene. 

And it seemed George Luz was the only member to notice the surprisingly love-sick Joe Liebgott and his puppy dog eyes staring at the 3 women.

" Earth to Mr. Liebgott," Joe heard a voice beside him say as if it were a robot. Joe narrowed his eyes and slowly turned his head to look towards George who stood with a smirk on his face. 

" Can I help you?" Joe muttered. Joe loved George like a brother, and George was a great companion when the cloudy days rolled in, but if Joe felt like he knew what George was doing, he wasn't happy that the conversation was about to start up right now.

" You look a little...." George trailed off watching Joe raise a brow at him, " love-sick?" Joe felt the top of his cheeks dust pink as he looked away back towards Hazel.

" Is it that obvious?" Joe grumbled out. He heard George laugh from beside him and throw an arm over his shoulder.

" Not too much, but just enough that I see those hearts in those deep dark eyes." George said. Joe sighed. 

" _Fuck_." Joe mumbled. George frowned.

" Did something happen?" George asked him, mildly concerned.

" Yeah, cupid's stupid arrow hit me right in the heart, it fucking sucks." Joe said. George felt a smirk upturn the corner of his mouth as he squeezed Joe's shoulder tight. 

" It's called love, Joe," George said.

" In the middle of a war though? I can't help but feel guilty." Joe said, sighing and shaking his head.

" Guilty that you love a beautiful girl like that, I mean c'mon Joe, the war's going to end at some point," George said as Joe met his eyes. Joe knew exactly what George was getting at with that notion.

" You know what they say, Joe, love's the most powerful force in the world." George commented, leaning against the railing beside Joe.

" Clearly," groaned Joe. It was hopeless. But he was willing to wait, if he had a chance at all, for the rest of the war, for the years after, if he even had the slightest chance with her. With a girl like Hazel Parker. George grinned.

" Have you told her?" George asked.

" No," Joe said quickly looking at him, " I can't. Not with the war." George smiled.

" I'm willing to wait as long as I can for her," Joe said, his eyes watching her be free and have fun for the moment. He smiled softly. George watched Joe smile as he watched the woman. 

" I'm hopeless, George." Joe muttered shaking his head. George smiled. 

" All good things are worth the wait, buddy." George said softly, " It seems this will be worth it in the end." Joe felt a smile quirk onto his face as he glanced at George. George met his eye and gave a soft smile.

" Trust me," George said. Joe had never seen George so, inspirational? So, welcoming to letting Joe tell him things and genuinely seem to not want to go and start spouting off everything under the sun? 

" You won't tell anyone, right?" Joe pleaded. George saw the look in his eyes. Joe really cared for her, even more than a best friend would. And George was friends with Joe, and trusted him.

" No," George said, " I won't. I promise. It's....it's your little love filled heart. I wouldn't want to destroy it." Joe glanced over at him. 

" Really?" Joe asked, mildly surprised.

" Yeah," George said, honestly. 

" Thanks for that, George, I uh, I appreciate it, a lot." Joe said and George smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

" I can tell you like her Joe, and if you really do, I know you're willing to wait for her. I may be annoying, but I'm not an idiot." George said and Joe snickered. 

" Nah, you're Easy's annoying idiot, we'll keep ya around." Joe said as George laughed, placing a smoke on his lip and passing it to Joe after he gave out a puff. Joe took it and let a puff roll out of his mouth. 

_What would he do without George Luz?_

And so it was to be George Luz would know about Joe's little known confession that had been pulling at his heart too much in the past few months, after seeing Hazel through the sickness, through the pain, through the moments where she doubted herself or where she looked to the stars. 

He would wait an eternity for her, if it meant she got to be happy.

He just wanted her happy in the end of this.

" Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you."

_\- Misty Copeland_

✰✰✰

When Hazel and Joe got back to Mourmelon-le-Grand, everyone was starting to arrive back from their trips to Paris or Reims or other French-famous towns with stories, gifts, and memories to last a lifetime. 

Supposedly the group of Lizze, Tab, Shifty and Smokey, had gotten drunk in Paris and were nearly tripping over each other as they got into the hotel room. The retelling had to be the funniest story of the night and watching Lizzie looking so happy and so joyful brought a smile to many people's faces. She had been at her low in the hospital and even though Gene was the only one to know about her diagnoses, she didn't let on anymore about it. it was for the best. So being with the guys for a bit, brought some joy back and forgetting the war for a night was exactly what she had needed. 

The days she felt started to blend together with Christmas being so different this year. They were in a completely different country, on an Army base, fighting a war that they didn't start. The days grew shorter and colder and Hazel found herself sleeping more and more, which she was happy about because she gratefully was taking Gene's advice, but she grew so exhausted from too much sleeping. 

Hazel and Shifty grabbed their weapons and began heading towards the tent where they could clean their weapons. Virtually no one else was there, so they were able to move into a spot and start washing their weapons together, chatting quietly. Hazel grew concentrated on cleaning her weapon. 

Since they predicted no action until mid-March, Hazel wanted to make sure that since her weapon wasn't going to be used, she didn't want it getting rusty and peeling. But Shifty was the same way with his own weapon, so that's why they worked well together. Tab eventually wandered in about 15 minutes later, and looking exhausted; everyone continually looked exhausted around camp today.

" You okay, Tab?" Hazel asked him, as he huffed sitting down next to her, pulling his weapon into his lap.

" Just peachy." he answered.

" You looked exhausted." Hazel said worriedly. 

" I guess that's just my normal face." Tab answered exhaustedly.

" And sound more sarcastic than normal." Shifty said and Hazel giggled, as Tab let out a huff. He then placed his head on Hazel's shoulder and shut his eyes.

" If I can get two minutes of damn sleep, I'll be happier, promise." he said. Hazel looked down at him, almost asleep and raised a brow slightly confused, but Shifty just shrugged and went back to cleaning his weapon. Like that, Tab was out like a light, slightly snoring. Hazel looked down at Tab with sympathy, as his exhausted state continued on resting. 

Everyone was exhausted, but as the days to Christmas grew closer, they started playing movies at night for the company to watch, and it started snowing every night. Everyone was finally starting to fall into a pattern where there was no war to fight and all they had to worry about was the football game on Christmas Day. 

Catherine visited WInters and Nixon after the trip to Paris. She hurried up the walkway towards his office and then opened the door to his office, popping her head in with a smile.

" Hey," she said and noticed it was just Winters behind the desk. 

" Hey, Catherine," Winters said, as Zelinski handed him another paper. Winters sighed, signing the paper again.

" What's up?" Winters asked her, not looking up as he signed yet another paper. 

" How was Paris?" she asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee and then sat down in a chair nearby getting comfortable.

" It was nice." Winters said, as he sighed again signing another paper. 

" Zelinski." Catherine said, the man and Winters looking up at her.

" Can you just give me a second?" she asked him. Zelinski nodded, before turning and walking out the door with a bundle of papers. Winters turned to look at her with soft eyes.

" What?" he asked as he looked back down at the papers.

" Paris! How was it?" she asked him. 

" Well, had a drink near the Effiel Tower, enjoyed the views. Got a chair shoved into me as I was drinking that drink." Winters said, as he placed down his pen and sat back. Catherine raised a brow.

" Is that sarcasm?" she asked.

" Yeah, you and Nix have been a bit to influential." Winters said and Catherine smirked proudly.

" What about you? Where'd you go?" Winters asked her.

" Went with a few of the guys. It was nice to get away from the war for a little bit." Catherine said. 

" I agree." Winters said. 

" Do you think there won't be action until March?" Catherine asked Winters asked he sipped his coffee. Winters' shoulders sagged a bit and he seemed to shrug, like he was confused.

" I'm not sure, the war changes every day." Winters said, as he picked up a map and then handed it to the girl. She let her eyes look over it and realized it was new movements from the Germans who were operating close by to where they had previously evacuated from Holland.

" All that time spent there?" Catherine asked Winters, who nodded, " Shit."

" No one's really sure what might happen in the moment, but I've ordered the COs to keep quiet around the enlisted. Not to jump to conclusions about anything." Winters said.

" But just to have a sense of preparedness." Catherine said with an agreeing nod as Winters nodded.

" Anticipation's better than surprise." Catherine commented, as she handed the map back to Winters.

" Glad we fit Paris in then, just incase something happens." Catherine said.

" Yeah," Winters said, as he leaned back in the chair and glanced out the window. 

" How's Dike been?" Winters asked her. She'd been assisting more with the company. Even though she was a Lieutenant, she was once intermixed with Easy Company, she was just assigned more jobs now in Battalion like writing reports. She stuck with Easy though mostly, staying by Peacock's side like a 2nd in command as well. 

She got plenty of observation of Dike, enough to talk to Nixon about it everyday. 

Dike had asked about the medics one day, and Lizzie and Gene and Spina had come running, but then Dike said he meant that he needed the mortar squad. He'd gotten his m's mixed up supposedly, but Lizzie was pissed and supposedly went off to Gene about it. Dike had asked for Catherine to come forward and address Easy, but she had to ask him about what to address the company with. He didn't have an answer, and Catherine had met Bull's eyes in the group and he had shaken his head. Dike had asked for Tab to march the company, he didn't give a where or when, so Tab had been pissed. 

Dike had asked 'the sniper' to come forward, and when Hazel did, he asked who what she was doing. She had answered that she was the sniper and Dike seemed rather confused. He had questioned her authority as Hazel had stood there, clutching her rifle in her hands. Catherine had to hold Tab back from intervening with it, because the whole situation earlier had already pissed him off greatly.

" Interesting." Catherine answered, with a slow nod. Winters raised a brow.

" What happened?" he asked her, sitting up.

" Well," Catherine said, holding her coffee in her hands and drumming her fingers against the cup, " I've been 2nd in command to Peacock, and I've gotten to observe a few things." 

" Peacock saying anything?" Winters asked her.

" We've discussed a few things, he's been a bit hesitant to really say anything about it because half the time Dike's up his ass about stuff, but Peacock usually has to fix things after Dike does it." Catherine explained. Winters visibly grimaced a bit.

" Dike tried telling Hazel she wasn't the sniper," Catherine said and Winters raised a brow, " Tab got pissed, went to Peacock afterwards. Peacock tried to tell Dike, but Dike was adamant that someone named Harold Parker was the sniper. He had misheard Peacock supposedly. I'm not sure, the entire thing was weird." Winters nodded, seemingly taking it in.

" Peacock, Buck, Shames and I get a bunch of stuff rolled down to us from him because he can't take care of it. Then it rolls to Lipton and Tab. It's kind of a mess, but the NCOs have been a great help, holding the group together as best they could." Catherine said.

" I agree, Catherine. The NCOs are Toccoa men and women, men and women who have been with Easy from the start, like Guarnere or Grant or Toye." Winters said and Catherine nodded.

" I talked to Joe, Joe Toye, the other day about it all," Catherine started, " and you know he's all about the company and making sure everyone's treated the same, stuff like that. He had to keep Dike from trying to reprimand one of the new replacements for no reason. Yapping about how the replacement showing up to the wrong formation even though it was the right one, stuff like that. Joe got him smiling though. It's just, they're trying their best with Dike. We all are." 

" I know you all are, especially the NCOs and the men and women who have been there since the beginning. Dike just seems to be taking time to adjust to it." Winters said with a nod, and Catherine nodded knowing he was probably right.

" Yeah," Catherine said, " you're right." 

After Joe's mental confession to himself as him and Hazel stood on top of the Effiel Tower, he attempted to remain as normal around her as he could and she suspected nothing. But he never failed to cast her a longing gaze as she laughed with Shifty, one of her closest friends, or when she was with the girls and the 3 women would be off playing some game with a ball which they learned at Camp Athene. 

And it seemed George Luz was the only member to notice the surprisingly love-sick Joe Liebgott and his puppy dog eyes staring at the 3 women.

" Earth to Mr. Liebgott," Joe heard a voice beside him say as if it were a robot. Joe narrowed his eyes and slowly turned his head to look towards George who stood with a smirk on his face. 

" Can I help you?" Joe muttered. Joe loved George like a brother, and George was a great companion when the cloudy days rolled in, but if Joe felt like he knew what George was doing, he wasn't happy that the conversation was about to start up right now.

" You look a little...." George trailed off watching Joe raise a brow at him, " love-sick?" Joe felt the top of his cheeks dust pink as he looked away back towards Hazel.

" Is it that obvious?" Joe grumbled out. He heard George laugh from beside him and throw an arm over his shoulder.

" Not too much, but just enough that I see those hearts in those deep dark eyes." George said. Joe sighed. 

" _Fuck_." Joe mumbled. George frowned.

" Did something happen?" George asked him, mildly concerned.

" Yeah, cupid's stupid arrow hit me right in the heart, it fucking sucks." Joe said. George felt a smirk upturn the corner of his mouth as he squeezed Joe's shoulder tight. 

" It's called love, Joe," George said.

" In the middle of a war though? I can't help but feel guilty." Joe said, sighing and shaking his head.

" Guilty that you love a beautiful girl like that, I mean c'mon Joe, the war's going to end at some point," George said as Joe met his eyes. Joe knew exactly what George was getting at with that notion.

" You know what they say, Joe, love's the most powerful force in the world." George commented, leaning against the railing beside Joe.

" Clearly," groaned Joe. It was hopeless. But he was willing to wait, if he had a chance at all, for the rest of the war, for the years after, if he even had the slightest chance with her. With a girl like Hazel Parker. George grinned.

" Have you told her?" George asked.

" No," Joe said quickly looking at him, " I can't. Not with the war." George smiled.

" I'm willing to wait as long as I can for her," Joe said, his eyes watching her be free and have fun for the moment. He smiled softly. George watched Joe smile as he watched the woman. 

" I'm hopeless, George." Joe muttered shaking his head. George smiled. 

" All good things are worth the wait, buddy." George said softly, " It seems this will be worth it in the end." Joe felt a smile quirk onto his face as he glanced at George. George met his eye and gave a soft smile.

" Trust me," George said. Joe had never seen George so, inspirational? So, welcoming to letting Joe tell him things and genuinely seem to not want to go and start spouting off everything under the sun? 

" You won't tell anyone, right?" Joe pleaded. George saw the look in his eyes. Joe really cared for her, even more than a best friend would. And George was friends with Joe, and trusted him.

" No," George said, " I won't. I promise. It's....it's your little love filled heart. I wouldn't want to destroy it." Joe glanced over at him. 

" Really?" Joe asked, mildly surprised.

" Yeah," George said, honestly. 

" Thanks for that, George, I uh, I appreciate it, a lot." Joe said and George smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

" I can tell you like her Joe, and if you really do, I know you're willing to wait for her. I may be annoying, but I'm not an idiot." George said and Joe snickered. 

" Nah, you're Easy's annoying idiot, we'll keep ya around." Joe said as George laughed, placing a smoke on his lip and passing it to Joe after he gave out a puff. Joe took it and let a puff roll out of his mouth. 

_What would he do without George Luz?_

And so it was to be George Luz would know about Joe's little known confession that had been pulling at his heart too much in the past few months, after seeing Hazel through the sickness, through the pain, through the moments where she doubted herself or where she looked to the stars. 

He would wait an eternity for her, if it meant she got to be happy.

He just wanted her happy in the end of this. 


	66. tell it to the stars

" I've never met a strong person with an easy past."

_\- Atticus_

✰✰✰

Life at Mourmelon-le-Grande had never been more peaceful. 

But Hazel noticed Lizzie was getting an influx of letters, almost daily by this point. And Hazel would watch Lizzie read them, her eyes grow sad and the stress lines appear on her features as she read it all. Hazel and Catherine were the only ones, as well as Gene who knew about Lizzie's grandmother and her cancer. But Lizzie didn't tell many people, she didn't want to burden others were her hardships when they had their own. 

Truth be told, Lizzie was getting updates on her grandmother. The cancer was worse and Lizzie was told she couldn't hold on much longer. Lizzie got a letter from Vest almost daily by this point, her parents wrote one to her everyday, updating Lizzie on just about everything that dealt with her grandmother. Lizzie had been the closest out of all the Elliot's with her grandmother. Her grandmother, even when she was first getting sick, was brave and she told the funniest stories from her childhood, with a smile on her face, her eyes lighting up. She never failed to do that. 

Even now, her parents wrote in letters that her grandmother was still doing that. 

Her grandmother had been the one to help her through the worst breakup she had ever experienced. Even though her parents and her brothers were there for her on the night she spent, crying upstairs alone in her room, refusing to eat, her grandmother truly helped her through most of it. 

Lizzie had only been 17 back in early 1940, when she had started dating one of the boys from her school, Danny Donahue. Lizzie had felt for the first time, that someone like him was making her feel love, a real love. She had been mistaken and her broke her heart once he heard she was deciding to join the Cadet Nurses' Corps. He had always been supportive and caring and willing for her to do anything he wanted. He was even super supportive of college, when not many people were of the day for women to go to those campuses. 

But the Cadet Nurses' Corps had crossed the line, for him at least, and that's when he broke it off. 

Her grandmother helped her through for the months following and leading up to her deployment to the Nurses' Corps, and the women that were there, were supportive and told Lizzie how wonderful she was and she didn't need Danny. But her grandmother, she had taken Lizzie's hands and the two had prayed; prayed that Danny would find the good in life and try and be better. 

And then her grandmother told her the wisest words she thought she'd ever hear from someone and it was hard to come to the certain realization, but Lizzie knew it was true.

_The heart was made to be broken over and over again until it grew wise, just like if you fall and fall again you'll eventually stand tall and now be knocked down again._

The words always sat with Lizzie, like a little puddle on her heart, but she eventually found strength and peace, and the words from her grandmother still follow her today. 

Heartbreaks weren't just romantically related. There were heartbreaks in war, like seeing a man die at your hands which were supposed to make him live, or seeing someone like Hazel, start crying because of the man she called her father. Or maybe it was because you couldn't control a heartbreak such as losing hope and faith finally. 

Heartbreaks were everywhere, but you always came out stronger in the end. 

Hearing her grandmother was getting worst had to be an even more terrible heartbreak than that of Danny. Her grandmother had always flown with the wind, taking it in strides, letting it guide her. She'd always been so graceful. And now, Lizzie might never see her graceful spirit again. 

But Lizzie told herself this is why she did what she did. She was helping people, everyday, with her work as a combat medic, and if that was something she could do to heal she was willing to do that. And then once this war ended, she'd go on and she'd try and find more hope for cancer, she'd study hard, that's what she'd do, and she'd advocate for hyperkinetic impulse disorder and for others who were like her feeling scared and alone. 

She'd help everyone. 

Her grandmother had always said she'd do so.

So, Lizzie folded up the most recent letter and headed towards the mess hall, maybe someone like Skip or Tab would be there. Lizzie slowly headed towards the mess hall and noticed Malarkey and Skip sitting in a corner, chuckling quietly together as they passed bits and pieces of money back and forth between the two. Lizzie felt a tiny smile tip at the corner of her lips. Lizzie gently wrapped her arms around herself and slowly approached the duo.

" Hey guys," Lizzie said with a small smile. Both men looked up and grins blossomed on both their faces.

" Hey, Doc!" Skip called, a wild grin on his face.

" Here come sit down." Malarkey said scooting over as she slowly eased herself into the spot beside him. 

" You look bundled up, you going somewhere?" Skip asked her. Lizzie grinned softly and shook her head.

" Just cold," she said with a nod, " but what about you two?" Malarkey and Skip glanced at each other and then looked back to Lizzie with grins.

" We've been hitting up every major French town within a 25 mile radius of here and are cleaning the places out of cash." Malarkey said proudly, " Everywhere I go there's people putting money on things, and I just happen to clean it up for them all. And here we are." Lizzie grinned with a small laugh and nodded.

" I can see." she said, looking at all the money spread in front of the two of them. Skip noticed the frown on her face.

" Hey, you okay, Lizzie?" Skip asked leaning forward. Lizzie looked up and met his eye.

" Yeah," she said, nodding, " fine." Skip watched her curiously.

" You sure?" he asked, " I know where you're ticklish and could get you laughing in seconds." A grin broke out on Lizzie's face as she laughed. Skip had been partnered up with her in Aldbourne on hand to hand combat sometimes and he hand found her ticklish spot, right on the side of her stomach and each time a block or punch was there, she'd giggle. Skip had found it hilarious. 

" Hey people," a voice said and the group looked up to see Joe Toye sliding in beside Lizzie.

" How's the Doc doing?" he asked as he poured some creamer into his coffee from one of the tiny packets. Everyone was sucking down coffee these days. 

" Okay," she said, " I'm glad to just be sitting here with you guys though." Joe smiled and nodded.

" Alright, alright, I know I can be rather flattering," Joe said as the trio looked at him and laughed, " but what's up? You look a little upset." Lizzie met his eye and sighed softly to herself. 

" My grandmother has cancer." she said quietly, nodding," and it's not getting better." Joe's eyes softened and she saw Skip's mouth drop open.

" Aw, Lizzie." Malarkey said wrapping an arm over her shoulders and pulling her softly into his side. As Lizzie curled into his side, she felt the tears build up, the one's she had been hiding for so long, the one's she refused to let out. She squeezed her eyes shut in his embrace and forced herself not to break down in front of the guys. She felt Joe's gentle hand on her other soldier, softly rubbing against it. Skip was quiet. 

" Thanks, Don." Lizzie whispered softly, as she pulled back from him and smiled up at him. Malarkey smiled at her and nodded, squeezing her shoulder a bit more. The guys were usually so upbeat and brash and just guys that sometimes Lizzie forgot how soft and emotional and comforting they could all be, like big brothers. She forgot the comfort it felt to have men like these guys around all the time.

" How's she doing?" Skip asked leaning forward as Joe kept a gentle hand on her shoulder.

" She's okay, for now, but they don't think she'll be getting better anytime soon." Lizzie whispered softly, glancing towards him and nodding, " She's a fighter though, she's tough." Lizzie blinked a few times, as her voice cracked.

" We know she is," Skip said and gently reached across the table to take her hand is his. Skip nodded. Lizzie's eyes welled up. 

" I just, I think sometimes, about if God takes her, what I'm going to do." Lizzie whispered. Skip didn't break eye contact from her.

" She'll keep loving you, even if she's looking down on you. She'll be so proud of you, Lizzie, and she'll be cheering you on from the stars." Skip said softly. Lizzie bit back her lip and nodded.

" Thank you, Skip." she whispered softly, as a tear fell down her cheek, but she was quick to wipe it away. Lizzie looked at the 3 men here, who were watching her so gently. Cancer was a scary thing, especially now. But sitting here with them, it didn't seem as if it were such a scary thought.

" God'll make sure of it, that she can watch you be you, Lizzie." Malarkey said to her and she met his eyes, with a trembling lip, " I've always believed that." 

" She's happy for now though, she's still telling stories, jokes." Lizzie said, and the 3 guys smiled. Joe gently wrapped his arm over Lizzie's shoulder.

" Thanks for helping me feel better guys," Lizzie said as she wiped at her eyes, " it means a lot, truly." Joe gave her a gentle squeeze, as Malarkey and Skip smiled fondly at her. 

" We can't let you deal with it all alone." Malarkey said, " No one should have to." Lizzie softly smiled, as her heart rate settled. Malarkey was right, that's why they were all here. And she smiled. Lizzie sat with Hazel that night in the barracks, curled up resting her head on Hazel's shoulder as Hazel listened to Lizzie whenever she spoke, when she wanted to speak. Hazel was always there to listen, whatever it was, and Lizzie was never more grateful for Hazel or Catherine or any of the guys in the company.

" Do you talk to the stars, Hazel?" Lizzie whispered softly, " I know you love them, but I've always wondered if you talk to them." Hazel smiled. 

" All the time, because it's like my mom is really there." Hazel said, a soft sigh leaving her lips as she rubbed Lizzie's shoulder, " It's comforting, they're always there."

" You think if God takes my grandmother, I could talk to the stars as if she were right beside me?" Lizzie asked quietly. Hazel's smile turned to a frown, as her heart sagged. It was a sad topic, but Hazel always did that for comfort. She knew it'd bring Lizzie comfort as well.

" Of course," Hazel said rubbing her shoulder, " anytime, everyday, every night, every minute." Lizzie slowly sat up from Hazel's shoulder and looked at her.

" Does it help, with the pain?" Lizzie asked her. Hazel smiled softly and nodded. 

" All the time." Hazel said. Hazel watched a bit of hope seem to filter into Lizzie's eye, a bit of relief.

" But your grandmother, she's okay right now," Hazel said gently, " but talk to the stars, tell them everything, they will always listen." Lizzie watched Hazel with a soft smile and nodded. 

" You know, I've always told the stars my darkest secrets, my worries, my fears, all of it. They know everything, and they still shine so bright." Hazel said, " They know so much and still shine, kinda like you." Lizzie smiled softly as she watched Hazel, the bright little sniper who had a want for hope to come.

" I think I might do that more often." Lizzie said and Hazel grinned.

" You should, it relieves a lot of stress." Hazel said with a nod as Lizzie smiled. The two girls sat there quietly for the rest of the night. 

In the coming days, there was a warm peace, as people geared up in practices for the football game on Christmas, people ate each meal in peace and there was more joy and laughter and just a general happiness. Lizzie even perked up a bit. She ate many meals with her core 4 group of Tab, Shifty and Smokey and would usually have coffee breaks with Gene, which was relieving. There was just a general feeling of calmness and peace, for the first time since being thrust into war. It was a comfortable feeling. 

The following night, Christmas was growing closer and Catherine had decided that if anything she hoped more coffee would arrive on base as she sat in the noisy barrack, listening to the men chatter, and Bill and Johnny go at it about how they had exactly shined their boots. She sat with her feet kicked up, eyes half shut, sipping her coffee softly, relishing the warmth and the overwhelming goodness of the caffeine which would hopefully sink in soon. There wasn't an annoyance, there was no one calling her ear up to go and write up a report and there was absolutely no sense of hurrying. 

That was until footsteps arrived at her side and she knew exactly who it was. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up to see it was George.

" To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked him with a smile. 

" Well, Lieutenant, Seven Sinners is playing down in the hall, and I knew you enjoyed those movies and figured you'd want to join." he said as a smirk played on his face.

" Let me guess, you've already seen this movie and are going to quote it the entire time." Catherine said with a smile on her face up at him. 

" You know me too well, Lieutenant." George said as he grinned at her as she stood, a slight yawn escaping from her mouth.

" Why not?" she said, taking a generous sip of coffee, " If I can take my coffee, count me in." George smiled as the two headed out in the blistering cold night, where snow was starting to fall. 

" Care for a sip?" she asked George.

" Please tell me you actually put creamer in it this time." George said as he took her up on the offer and gently sipped it. Catherine smirked.

" That was only a few times George, and they were when you caught me chugging caffeine." Catherine clarified to him.

" Ah right," he said, a chuckle leaving his lips. When they arrived at the hall where the movie was being played, a few people were already sitting down in their seats. And George picked ones right behind Joe Toye and Lip, who were talking quietly together, and ones just a bit in front of Skip and Perconte. Catherine slowly sat down as George seated himself quietly down beside her. Catherine raised a brow at how gentle he was sitting down. 

Usually, back in Aldbourne, he raced to every meal, throwing himself onto the boarded seat, hungrily wolfing down his food. Now he sat down as if he were a graceful ballerina. 

Did Catherine suspect any less from George? 

No, not really. 

Catherine settled into her chair, sipping her coffee rather tirelessly as the lights went down and the movie began playing. Catherine actually enjoyed the movie, just a bit more though, because George made comments that sent her snickering just about the entire time through it.

" Look at me, I'm John Wayne. The costume department set me up with these great Navy Whites." Luz said and Catherine nearly snorted the coffee through her nose as she watched Joe slowly turning from in front of them for the 6th time tonight, an annoyed look on his face.

" Luz, shut up." Toye spat, as Catherine bit back her tongue from beside George.

" What do you think?" George said, as Lipton turned around, looking at Luz with serious eyes.

" I'm trying to watch this." Lip said.

" I've seen this movie 13 times, okay?" Luz said. 

" Well, I haven't, so, _shut_ _up_." Toye said, and Catherine glanced over at George who held back a smirk. She shoved his shoulder and he laughed quietly.

" Watch the movie, it's fine." Luz protested. 

" Hey, Skip!" a voice called out, and everyone turned as Malarkey's voice rang about the dark room.

" Shh, c'mon!" Luz called to Malarkey as Toye and Lip turned around again. Catherine just shook her head laughing again as she looked back up at the screen, a smirk drawn up on her face. Luz smoked from next to her, as her wide eyes focused on the movie. 

" Jesus!" suddenly came a yell from behind them, and both Lip and Toye turned around shushing them and yelling shut up. Catherine looked back at Malarkey and raised a brow as he smirked at her. She smiled. Catherine then turned and looked back up at the movie. George's eyes started shining as he leaned forward and patted Lip's shoulder. Smooth, cocky, bastard.

" Lip, favorite part." Luz said. Lip turned and shushed him quickly.

" Got a penny?" Luz said, in a bit of an accent, and Catherine looked up at him with dancing eyes, a smirk crawling onto her face. She could see Toye slowly turning to look at Luz, who sat dead serious.

" Got a penny?" Luz said again. 

" Got a penny?" Luz said again with more emphasis, as Toye continued looking at him. Toye turned muttering a curse to himself as Catherine let out a small chuckle.

" Got a _penny_?!" George said louder this time. 

" Got a penny?" Marlene Dietrich said on the screen and then Catherine lost it as she began giggling louder, slapping a hand over her mouth to hide the laughter. Luz's laughter filled her ears as Lip turned to look at Luz who's laugh was that of sunshine it seemed.

" What?" Luz said through the laugh. Suddenly, there was bang from behind them, and footsteps were heard walking straight up the center of the path through the chairs. 

" Lights!" the voice called, as the lights slowly came up and complaints began to ring out from every man in there, as Catherine slowly sat up, concern washing over her face. 

The coffee was cold. 

Catherine watched the two soldiers that had walked in, head up towards the front, and her eyes grew concerned even more than usual. Catherine furrowed her brows, biting back her lip with worry.

" Quiet!" the soldier yelled back at the complaints.

" You can't do that to the Duke!" Luz yelled as Catherine's eyes watched the two soldiers, her heart pounding.

" I said, quiet!" the man yelled turning to look at the mass of soldiers his eyes looking throughout the room as Catherine's heart rate sped up rapidly. The movie turned off and the room went deafly quiet, you could hear a pin drop. It was quiet for a few moments. What was going on? 

" Elements of the 1st and the 6th SS panzer Division have broke through the Ardennes forest." the man said and Catherine's heart dropped into a pit inside her chest, as she saw George lean back a bit with a roll of his eyes.

" Now, they've overrun the 28th Infantry and elements of the 4th. All officers report to respective HQs. All passes are cancelled. " the man said as complaints sprang from mouths. Catherine's heart dropped as she glanced towards George who met her worried eyes. 

" Enlisted men report to barracks and your platoon leaders." the man said firmly, before walking down the center of the isle again as men began storming out. Catherine slowly looked towards George, as she bit back her lip gently again. She puffed out her cheeks.

" Well, it's been real, but I gotta meet with Nixon." Catherine said, as she slowly stood, patting George on the shoulder. 

" Sure has," George said with a sigh, " I'll see ya around, right, Lieutenant?" Catherine stopped and turned to him. She gave a mock two finger salute with a proud smirk on her face.

" You know it, radioman." she said and then headed out following a few fellow Lieutenants from Fox outside, heading straight for the storm.


	67. the will of the fight

" Courage is fear holding on a minute longer."

_\- General George S. Patton_

✰✰✰

" I don't think that's how that works Joe," Hazel said as Joe glanced at her, pulling his hand back from rock, paper scissors with a smirk. 

" You sure, Parker?" Joe said, " Because I know rock covers scissors and paper, paper covers rock, but gets cut by scissors and scissors cut paper but get crushed by rocks." Hazel smirked at him.

" Oh really, Mr? Paper covers rock." she said as her 'paper' covered the rock. Joe looked at her. 

" You know I'm right." she said proudly, leaning back against her bed, headstand with a growing smirk on her face. Joe smirked shaking his head.

" I don't-" Before Joe could finish, a voice was heard over everyone's.

" Start packing your gear! We've been called to the front!" Bill's voice called over the group. Hazel slowly looked over her eyes widening, fear skyrocketing her entire system.

" The front?" she whispered sitting up. Everyone knew about the fighting from the 28th and the 4th in Belgium. But they were supposed to be winning. 

Why was the Airborne being called up? 

Hazel gently met Joe's gaze, as hers became riddled with worried. He watched her eyes. She bit back her lip and looked over towards her sniper which was lent up against her bed, all shiny and cleaned up, with a new scope fitted to it - just an updated version of the Redfield, where condensation was almost nonexistent. She sighed, and felt Joe's gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked towards him with a soft smile. 

His eyes were telling her it'd be okay. 

It had to be. 

But to the front with Lieutenant Dike; that scared her. 

Everyone began packing up, shoving things in their bags and Hazel made sure to pack as many socks as she could shove into her bag, as well as scarves. She slowly clasped the Star of David and softly kissed it before placing it on her neck with the dog tags. She put on an extra army issued sweater, and pulled her ODs on overtop before adding the scarf around her neck, tucking it in around her neck. Her gloves would freeze to her skin, but they were the only thing she had to combat the cold and her tiny fingers. 

What the hell was going on? 

Nixon gave orders for Catherine to find Peacock. Catherine found the man in the snow flurries, eyes searching for someone. Clearly it was her, when he saw her and went running towards her.

" Catherine." he said as he approached.

" Hey, Tom." she said, " What the fuck's going on?"

" Germans broke through the Ardennes forest, and it looks like we're being sent in." Peacock explained and Catherines' heart dropped.

" Shit." she said letting out a breath, her thoughts of Christmas Day football out the window, more trips to Paris canceled, and Christmas in a warm bed, gone.

" We need to find Strayer." Peacock said gently grabbing her arm, " Come on." The two, rather frantic Lieutenants hurried through the blustering snow towards the trucks that sat right outside Mourmelon-le-Grande, eyes peeled looking for the Colonel. They were only able to find Winters, but that filled Catherine with relief. Peacock asked Winters.

" Sir?" Peacock called.

" Lieutenant Peacock?" Winters said before Winters noticed Catherine next to him.

" Lieutenant McCown," Winters said with a nod and she nodded back, worry filling her stomach like an acid.

" Sir, have you seen Colonel Strayer?" Peacock asked the ginger haired Captain. 

" Where's the Company Commander?" Winters asked through the blustering wind.

" Oh, Lieutenant Dike, I've been looking for him all day." Peacock said, and Catherine spoke up.

" I haven't seen him yet, today, sir." Catherine said and she saw Winters internally grumble a bit.

" I mean, how is it that the 4th Army's problem gets dumped on the Airborne?" Peacock asked as a barrel of fire came up nearby, and Buck was visible in the light. Buck had recently just arrived back with Easy Company and the glazed look in his eyes told a different story. Catherine stood next to Winters as she shook her head, a bitter chill finding its way into her body.

" Lieutenant Peacock, Lieutenant Compton, Lieutenant McCown." came a voice, and the trio turned with Winters to see Dike coming up to them with no helmet and no gear.

" Cap'n Winters." Dike said, saluting, as he approached and moved in between Catherine and Winters, shoving Catherine into Peacock, with a grumble a bit.

" Oh, Lieutenant Dike, I've been looking for you." Winters said, and Catherine smirked.

" Sir, we have a problem." Dike said and Catherine bit back a sarcastic remark. 

" Colonel Strayer has not yet returned from some wedding that he's attending in London." Dike said and Catherine glanced at Peacock and Buck's expression which remained a little confused or blank.

" Can you believe that?" Dike said as Catherine shifted from her left to right foot, " We're going to the front," Dike looked to Catherine who nodded in confirmation to ease him off a bit, " we're going to the front here, and our CO isn't even in the same damn country." 

" You have a bigger problem, Lieutenant Dike." Winters said, " You have men and women returning to action without proper cold weather clothing and not enough ammo."

" Sir?" Dike answered, utterly confused. 

" I suggest you take a canvass of the entire base." Winters said looking at Dike, " Get what materials you have before you roll out. Or have you done that already?" Catherine found sarcasm lacing Winters tone, and a hint of annoyance.

" No, sir." Dike answered, as more snow flurries started falling, and Catherine glanced at Peacock. 

" K rations, as many as you can scrounge." Winters said, and Catherine knew he wanted the best for Easy, " We don't know if we'll be resupplied or not."

" Yes, sir." Dike said nodding. 

" What about ammo?" Peacock asked.

" There is no more ammo." Winters said and Catherine blew out her cheeks. 

" Distribute it amongst the men and women as best you can so, at least everybody has something." Winters said as Catherine glanced, rather embarrassed at Dike.

" Yes, sir." Dike answered. 

" Lieutenant Compton, Lieutenant Peacock, Lieutenant McCown, inform Lieutenant Shames of the situation." Dike said to them, " Get all your platoons as best equipped as you can," Winters looked to Catherine who met his eyes, a bit of anger in her system at the current situation, " and then report back here to me, understood?"

" Yes, sir.' the three replied. 

" Lieutenant McCown," Dike said, as she didn't leave with Peacock and Buck who looked at her hesitantly.

" Cap'n." the two said as they left. Catherine looked back at Dike.

" Since you're more of an assistant and move between company and Battalion, stay with Captain Winters." Dike ordered.

" Yes, sir," she answered.

" Those three can take care of the platoons," he said.

" Yes, sir." she said with another nod. Dike then saluted to Winters before turning and hurrying away. Catherine and Winters watched him hurry off. Catherine looked back at Winters, completely and utterly confused.

" Does he know I"m not your assistant?" she asked him a bit sarcastically.

" Probably not." Winters said and she smirked. She saluted.

" I'll see you around, sir." she said and Winters saluted her before she hurried off in search of Nixon. 

The men and women were loaded into trucks together, shoved in like cattle, in the darkness of the night in the middle of December, as the trucks pulled away towards where ever their starting point would be. Hazel had been later than the rest, Buck had come to her with spare sniper ammo he'd found and the two had been the last shoved in the truck, and Hazel had been smooshed in between Malarkey and Liebgott, shaking like a leaf. Her sniper under her legs, her helmet on her knees, as she leaned back as comfortably as she could on what she could think of only as Liebgott's arm. It was already so ungodly cold, and the warmth of the guys in the truck was the only thing keeping her from shivering too much. She gazed around at the men in the truck and saw Tab, Bill, Joe Toye, Ramirez, Babe and Popeye, as well as Skip, Penkala, Shifty and Chuck. A mess of people from 1st, 2nd and 3rd platoon-everything right now seemed a mess.

" I guess the blackout's not in effect." Buck said, as Hazel glanced up at him the bitter cold going down her neck. Liebgott slowly put a cigarette in his mouth from next to Hazel as she glanced towards him biting her lip.

" Luftwaffe must be asleep." Buck said.

" What a difference a day makes, huh, Lieutenant?" Ramirez said. 

" Christ, I miss those C-47s." Bill said.

" We've got a tailgate jump here." Tab said as Hazel glanced at him, his sarcasm thick and cold. Hazel watched as one of the replacements tried lighting up Popeye's cigarette. It wasn't working as best it could. 

" I just wanna know where they're sending us, what the hell we're supposed to do with no ammo." Babe said.

" Hey, kid," Bill called to the replacement lighting up Babe's cigarette, " what's your name again?" 

" Suerth. Suerth Junior." Suerth said.

" You got any ammo, Junior?" Babe asked him.

" Er, just what I'm carrying," Suerth said.

" What about socks, Junior, you got extra socks?" Toye asked him. 

" A pair." Suerth said.

" You need four, minimum." Skip seemingly scolded holding his finger to him, " Feet, hands, neck, balls," everyone joined in, " extra socks warms them all." 

" Okay, we all remember that one. But did we remember the socks?" Skip asked as Hazel glanced at Suerth who sat slightly weirded out it seemed. She couldn't pin point his expression.

" Yeah, I'd give my goddamn boots for a cigarette." Bill commented. 

" We're all out of ammo and socks." Malarkey called.

" I bet Junior's got plenty of both." Bill said. 

" I don't." Suerth said shaking his head.

" How 'bout a hat, you got a hat?" Liebgott called to him. 

" Hey, you got extra ammo?" Suerth asked back, and Hazel raised her brow with a smirk.

" What about a coat, you got a coat?" Liebgott asked him, feeling Hazel shivering against him. 

" I need to pee." she heard Liebgott say to Malarkey and she suppressed a laugh.

" Shut up with the coat, Liebgott, no one's got one." Skip said to him. 

" How about some smokes then?" Ramirez asked him with a smug look.

" Yeah, uh, I got some smokes." Suerth said digging into his bag. 

" Oh, now you're talking!" someone yelled, as arms shot out toward Suerth for a smoke each, but Hazel stayed put; she didn't want to smoke. Soon the smokes were passed around, and soon everyone got their long awaited cigarette. People were lighting each other's and soon it quieted down again. Hazel looked over her shoulder, past Liebgott toward the darkness and the snow covered terrain, her stomach flipping inside her chest. Nothing felt good about the situation they were going into, not at all. 

It made her stomach hurt, at the fear that pulsed throughout her entire system. But she didn't know what she was fearing at the moment, as another shock wave of cold air pulsed down her neck and she leaned back, closer to Liebgott's warmth, as she felt his hand on her arm.

" It's ok." Liebgott said quietly to her, as he pulled the smoke from his lips. She nodded, gulping as she turned back and looked at the group. 

Just two hours ago, she was sitting there, chatting with Joe himself, now she was on an icy road in the cold on her way to the Ardennes forest. 

Trucks lined the sides of the road, as soldiers jumped down from inside, clothed in what gear they could manage. The people inside the truck had loaded on all their gear, what coats they had, and helmets, as the hatch dropped and they began jumping out. 

The minute Hazel's feet hit the icy ground, she felt cold. They'd been on the road for over an hour by the time they arrived here, but as Hazel stepped forward, reality slowly kicked in. Her warm breath froze as she stood there, puffs of white air leaving her mouth as she breathed, and she could feel the blood leaving her fingertips already. She began to feel cold, as her multiple layers wasn't enough. She remembered the warmth she had felt in the tent. 

That was gone now. 

People poured pits of oil in the snow and lit them with matches so people could go up and warm themselves up the best they could. Hazel slowly walked over to one, and let the warmth reach her fingertips as she stood there soaking in the last few drops of heat. She felt a body next to her and looked over and saw Lizzie there, shaking as well. None of the girls had really any mass to them; they were all tiny, and the cold was already making an impact on each of them, Hazel could tell Lizzie was cold as her nose turned pink and her cheeks turned white, her whisps of hair coming from her helmet, framing her face in icy strands. She had another layer on.

" Where'd you get another coat from?" Hazel asked Lizzie, as her teeth gritted together.

" Tab." she said. Hazel glanced over her shoulder as Tab and Bill began corralling people; Tab had his basic ODs.

" He gave it up to me, I told him to keep it." Lizzie protested shaking her head as she shivered continuously, " Shit." 

Catherine jumped out of the truck with Nixon, shaking from the cold already.

" Wait right here, don't go anywhere!" Nixon called to the truck, map in hand. Winters jumped out behind her, and came up on her side as she let out a chatter of her teeth, eyes glued to the map in Nixon's hand. She knew where they were.

" Welcome to Belgium." Sink said as they approached his car, " This area's known as Bastogne. Strategic crossroads town. Seven roads leading in, seven roads leading out, which makes it ideal for Kraut armor." Catherine could hear explosions going off in the distance and her heart sunk. Catherine glanced over her shoulder towards the road that would lead towards Bastogne. 

It was like a weird feeling lying in the pit of her chest as Christmas thoughts left her brain. There was no way now that Christmas was about to be spent here on base. It was a bitter taste to swallow.

" Now, Ike wants to make sure that the Krauts can't use those roads, so we're gonna put a perimeter around Bastogne, dig in tight as a tick." Sink said looking at Winters who had pulled out his map. 

" 2nd battalion will be deployed over here to the east in this wooded area." Sink said.

" Thank god, barely made it." a voice was heard and the group of 4 turned to see it was Colonel Strayer, Catherines' eyes widened as she looked to Nixon. 

" Better get yourself some ODs, Bob." Sink told him.

" Okay." Strayer answered, before turning around and heading away.

" 1st Battalion's to the North on your left flank. 3rd Battalion's in reserve. Andy, let's roll." Sink called, as Catherine got a good look at the map, letting out a shaky breath.

" Sir, we're a little short on ammunition." Nixon said as Catherine resumed walking beside Winters again, getting a look at his map this time, her eyes scoring the entire thing. 

" How short?" Sink asked.

" There was a limited supply in camp, sir." Winters said over Catherine's head as she bit her lip looking at the map before looking at Sink. 

" Cap'n, you beg, borrow or steal ammo, but you defend this area." Sink said as he got back in his car and the three saluted, pulling their maps from his hood. Catherine dropped her salute after answering with a quick yes, sir, watching his truck pulled away her heart pounding.

" _Fuck_." she whispered looking at Nixon and Winters, her worry overwhelming her. The map in general, gave a clear vision, they could easily be surrounded as well. 

Lizzie was shaking, standing next to Babe as Babe smoked his cigarette. Staring off toward the forest next to them. Babe's hand were shaking as he moved the cigarette from his lip to let out some smoke.

" Babe, you're shaking." Lizzie told him. He looked at her.

" You are, too." he answered, noticing the frozen features of her red nose. Her hands were frozen, nose bright red. Then both their gazes were caught by something in front of them. Lizzie stopped shaking and Babe pulled his cigarette from his lips, eyes staring forward.

" Jesus Christ." Babe said, as Lizzie barely moved watching the soldier, whole face basically wrapped up, slightly bloody.

" What the hell?" Lizzie muttered, eyes trained forward still. Babe and Lizzie glanced back towards where the man had come from; their eyes widened. A line of soldiers came, retreating from where they were heading, injured, exhausted and bloodied. Babe threw the cigarette.

" Hey, Bill, Don, come here, look at this!" Babe called, desperation and fear in his voice as he stepped forward to where Bill and Malarkey were both peeing on the side of the truck. 

" Come here, look at this!" Babe said as they protested.

" Hold on!" Bill hollered, as Lizzie stood there now with Babe at her side again, eyes staring at the sight. Bill came up on her side.

" What the..." he muttered. Lizzie glanced at Bill and then Malarkey, eyebrow's scrunched up in concern and confusion.

" What the hell is going on?" Malarkey wondered aloud.

" I don't have a clue." Lizzie said softly.

" Hey, you're going the wrong way." Bill called out, hoping to get an answer. 

" Hey, Pal," Bill called out, " Hey, pal, hey, pal, what happened?" He stopped an injured man who was walking slowly.

" Where the hell are you going?" Bill asked, looking at him confused, as Lizzie looked up from Babe's side at the man. 

" They came out of nowhere, they slaughtered us." he said and Lizzie's heart stopped.

" You gotta get outta here." he said as Lizzie looked toward Bill and Babe with wide eyes. 

" We just got here." Babe said.

" What do you mean we gotta get outta here?" Lizzie asked looking at him utterly confused.

" Gimme your ammo." Bill said as Lizzie looked to him.

" Take it, you'll need it." the soldier said his voice slowed and shallow as he did so. Lizzie raised a brow as Babe passed her a bandage, which she pocketed.

" Go on, get out of here." Babe told him as he turned and walked away. Lizzie looked up at Babe and then Bill, worry lines forming.

" What the hell?" she wondered.

" Holy Christ." Bill said as Babe looked at him. Her heart was racing, something she felt she couldn't control right now, as worry lobbed her system. Then her mind clicked.

" Hey, any of you got bandages?" she called, wadding into the crowd. Others started moving in asking for ammo or med kits as well, it was the only thing they could do. Hazel watched as she shuffled forward and felt ammo being dropped into her arms. She passed it to others, that ammo wouldn't work for her sniper. She took grenades though and med kits, whatever she could get her hands on. 

" Make a hole!" a voice yelled suddenly, as honking echoed through the crowd.

" Make a hole! Hey, make a hole!" the voice continued yelling and people watched as a Lieutenant drove through boxes of ammo in his truck behind him. 

" I got ammo, grab what you can." he called, as the soldiers moved towards him. As Hazel hurried over she saw Nixon, Catherine and Winters walking towards the truck.

" Lieutenant, you're a godsend." Nixon called, as Catherine, pulled her coat around her tighter. 

" What's the situation?" Catherine asked him, as people began swarming around to unload to the boxes of ammo.

" Well, I heard you guys were coming in." the Lieutenant said, " There was an ammo dump, so here." 

" Is it just you guys in the 101st?" he asked.

" Looks like." came a response from the crowd. 

" What hit you fellows?" Winters asked him, as Hazel came forward to pull boxes from the truck and walked into Toye. She looked up at him with worry filled eyes and the two watched each other for a second. Toye's eyes were serious, filled with upheld anger. But they softened, watching her. Hazel watched his eyes. He nodded walking past her as Hazel walked forward, yanking another box from the truck. 

She never saw that look on someone's face, especially someone like Joe Toye.

" Everything." the Lieutenant said, " The Krauts had Tigers, Panthers, SPs, Stukers, and infantry that just kept on coming." 

" Fuck, man." Catherine muttered, as her and Nixon put a box to the ground.

" What's your name, Lieutenant?" Winters asked him. 

" George Rice, 10th Armor." he said.

" Good work, son." Winters told him as Rice nodded. 

" You got any more mortar rounds, sir, we're real short." Skip said coming up to Rice's side.

" Well, I'll try to make another ammo run if I can but, uh, don't count on anything." he said. to Skip. 

" Thank you, sir, I'll take this, Cap'n," Skip said pulling a box from Winters. Rice got back into his truck as he looked to Frances, Nixon and Winters.

" A Panzer Division's about to cut the road south." he said to them, " Looks like you guys are gonna be surrounded."

" We're paratroopers, Lieutenant." Winters said looking at Rice, with wise eyes, " We're supposed to be surrounded." Catherine felt a smile crawl onto her face, as a swell of pride forced the smile on her lips to bloom. She looked at her feet in the snow, a smile upturned on her lips. Winters had never been more right.

" Good luck." Rice said, nodding and looking at the trio. 

" Thanks." Nixon offered as the truck drove away. Catherine watched him go before looking at the duo. She smiled. Hazel was jostled a bit as men pulled ammo from where the NCOs stood handing it out. Tab came up to her and put something in her hands.

" More sniper ammo," he told her, and a small smile found its way onto her features.

" Thanks, Tab." she said through the chill of the night. He smiled at her. Then they were moving, in two vertical lines towards Bastogne, Belgium. 

Hazel's footsteps were gentle, as she looked towards the dark sky which welcomed them with the sounds of explosions and bombs. Hazel sucked down a soft breath, as her stomach churned uneasily. Hazel walked behind Perconte and in front of Tab, her weapon held comfortably in her hands. Buck walked nearby to her, as they slowly moved away from the burning pits of fire, and the trucks and ammo and from France. Her heart pounded in her chest with each footstep. She could hear the sounds of explosions in the path they headed towards. 

The unknown. 

A familiar feeling found it's way into Hazel's chest; it was like D-Day, with no jump and no combat experience. But instead now, they knew this war, but not every aspect that was concealed within it. Hazel slowly walked forward and noticed Winters standing, and watching the company. 

His Company, even if it were really Dike's. 

Hazel met his eyes, his gentle, wise eyes, and smiled. It was a gentle, small and chilled smile, but Winters noticed it and nodded to her. He was watching his men and his women march into battle against the enemy, without second thought it seemed, with power and pride in each step. Everyone was going to fight this battle in the middle of the cold winter, where explosions welcomed them, flashing the sky like a dance every so often as they headed toward their fate. But they were paratroopers. 

They did that. 

They fought the unknown without fear, instead with courage and bravery, willing to risk their lives for this war which consumed them all now. Hazel looked around at her brothers in arms, her band of brothers, and saw on each of their faces, a similar determination, a willingness to move on in from a peaceful quiet they had to a ferocious battle they didn't know a thing about, ready to fight. 

But they were willing to do that, to fight; they were paratroopers after all, moving into the woods of Bastogne, with no artillery or air support, short of food and ammunition and winter clothing, but they were willing do fight, through anything, right now. 

**_Easy Company moved into the woods near Bastogne without any artillery or air support. It was short of food, ammunition, and lacked winter clothing._ **

**_" Farthest from your mind is the thought of falling back, in fact, it isn't there at all. And so you dig your hole carefully and deep, and wait." - ' Currahee ' Scrapbook of the 506 PIR._ **


	68. bitter bastogne

" The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it."

_\- Lion King_

✰✰✰

Easy Company and the rest of 506th arrived at their designated positions. Hazel felt numb by the time they had reached the portion of the Ardennes forest they would be in. The darkness blanketed the entire forest, as an equally thick layer of snow covered the Earth. The trees were massive it seemed, as Hazel stopped to look up towards them. She could faintly see the stairs through the tops and the dark, black sky. She looked around where they were positioned, snow lightly falling. 

Hazel began to see people digging their foxholes. She heard distant bombs going off in the background, a cold reminder that there were in a war, right on the frontlines, and there was an even higher risk of death now. Hazel stood alone in the cold, thinking about how quickly war truly changed on them and how fast they could be warm, happy, anticipating Christmas, to now, digging in in a frozen tundra where the warmest thing was the man next to you. The thing you would relish most. 

Paris was far from her mind as she stared out at the pitch black forest.

" Hey, Hazel." she heard a voice say as an icy blast hit her nose. She turned, her helmet swinging on her head as she looked up. She felt a smile on her face, even if her skin felt numb to the touch. 

" Hey Shifty." she said as she looked up at him.

" Foxhole partners?" he asked her, and she nodded. 

" Yeah, definitely." she said and the two walked toward a spot nearby to that of other foxholes. Her and Shifty began working together in the numbing cold to dig a foxhole. But it made Hazel feel warmer, working her muscles, pitching snow out of the dark pit of dirt. Each breath let out an icy puff of air into the night and made Hazel shiver even as she sweat.

" Hey Shifty?" she asked him in the quiet of the night, the snow falling gently, covering up any general noise that was made.

" Yeah?" he asked her, slightly breathless as he hefted another shovel of dirt out.

" Why do you think we're here?" she asked, still confused on why they were sent here.

" Supposedly," Shifty started, " the Germans broke through here, in the Ardennes Forest, and the guys who were leaving dumped the problem on us. I don't know, that seems like something Dike would've said." Hazel left out a tiny huff for a laugh as she pulled more soil out, rock hard soil.

" I remember Catherine," Hazel said, " talking about the Ardennes Forest, of Belgium, back before we made the jump into Normandy."

" Yeah, yeah I remember that." Shifty said as he pulled out another shovel of snow and placed it outside of the foxhole. Hazel smiled softly. Once they finished their foxhole, she was freezing again, the sweat now frozen, her cheeks white as her nose remained red. The two finally settled down at about 2 in the morning. Hazel's teeth chattered as her and Shifty threw both their blankets overtop of themselves for more warmth. She cuddled into Shifty's side, trying to find more warmth, as Shifty did the same. It was barely a few hours out in this terrible cold, and they were already freezing. 

How long would this nightmare last? 

When Hazel woke up the next morning, everything above the foxhole seemed grey. Hazel looked towards Shifty and noticed his nose was bright red, as he let out quiet snores. Hazel slowly sat up as her muscles ached a bit, and moved the blankets to Shifty's body, as he moved around a bit and yawned and cuddled into them again. Hazel peaked her head out again over the edge of the foxhole, and looked around. There were people moving around quietly it seemed. 

Catherine was moving around, crouching beside foxholes as she picked up her duty of splitting her time between Battalion and the company. Hazel sat in the snow with a small smile on her face, as the cold bit in at her fingertips and at her toes; Catherine was always there for the company and she balanced the stress of Battalion and her mapping assistance and her ability to stay with the company very well, Hazel thought. But she'd always been like that, ever since Athene. 

Everyone loved Catherine, that's just how she was, and she always could rally a group and take a force head on, and she was reliable. A couple charges that Winters had her lead back on The Island, were successful simply because of her leadership skills. 

Hazel always admired Catherine.

" Hey, kid." she heard a voice say and she turned to see it was Bill.

" Hey, Bill." she said, glancing back at Shifty before jumping up and out of the foxhole.

" How you holding up?" he asked her, already noticing her bright red nose which stuck out against the grey background. Hazel gave him a small smile.

" Okay, it's just really cold." she said quietly, and Bill nodded.

" I know," Bill said, " they're sending runners into Bastogne, that town nearby, to try and find anything really, blankets, food, meds."

" Oh." Hazel said, and looked up at him as a shiver went down her spine.

" Doc's been telling people to keep moving, get blood circulation around, stuff like that, especially you," Bill said pointing at her, " we ain't calling you Tiny for nothing, Tiny, you need to move so we don't see you frozen one morning." Hazel smiled looking up at him.

" I think I can do that for you." she said with a small laugh.

" I gotta get moving, but I'll see you around, kid." he said, before gently rubbing her shoulder and heading out again. Hazel sucked in a cold breath, the air hurting her lungs a bit, as she cuddled up the scarf around her neck a bit more to keep the sensitive skin from hurting more than it already was as it the cold blasts hit her. 

Breakfast that morning was dreary. 

Winters and the rest of the officers were nearby and Hazel could see Catherine talking quietly with Peacock by a tree. She looked angry about something. Haze glanced at Chuck, who had followed her gaze in the white wilderness. Chuck was on his way to breakfast when he'd seen the women heading towards it and decided to take her up on the offer of going there with her. But Winters was watching both Chuck and Hazel, so the two just nodded with a small smile before turning and walking away, eating their food.

" What is going on?" Hazel asked, as she glanced back at Catherine. 

" Maybe she'll stop by in a bit, she probably will to check on everyone." Chuck said.

" You're right." Hazel said, biting her lip worriedly. This situation felt unfamiliar. Of course, back at Athene, Thermes had led plenty of missions in the snow, they'd slept in it, eaten in it, stuff like that, but they hadn't fought a war in it. They were all freezing their asses off, with barely any food or winter supplies or coats and blankets, with the enemy from what it seemed not to far away. The cold, the winter cold, in America was different from that of Belgium; Belgium was blistering cold that blasted you it seemed. 

Hazel watched as Catherine then went over to Nixon, as he pulled out a map and began pointing to different locations. She nodded a few times as they spoke softly. Then Catherine was off again, doing what could only be thought of as rounds. Hazel looked over towards Gene and Lizzie who stood side by side, talking quietly, eating their K-ration as they stood there. She managed to catch the small smile that covered Gene's lips as Lizzie sat something and it settled Hazel's nerves for the moment. The medics without fail were a constant worry, she always said that though.

" I'll be back, Chuck." she said softly and began to approach the medics. Both their noses were bright red like cherries, and their eyes were already sunken in from the lack of sleep they had been provided last night, but they had each other and it seemed that's all that mattered in that moment as they stood huddled side by side. 

" Hey, guys." Hazel said as she slowly approached the two. The two medics looked up as Hazel approached.

" Hazel!" Lizzie said, her eyes lightening up a bit from the evident stress and worry that was inserted deep down on the inside.

" I don't mean to interrupt but I was just going to ask if you checked on Catherine last night? She seemed sorta stressed." Hazel said. Gene and Lizzie glanced at each other and then looked back towards Hazel.

" It's Lieutenant Dike, again." Lizzie said with a sad smile, " He tried telling her off again even though she's studied the geography of the land. She's just upset that he's not trusting the intell she has." Hazel sighed softly. 

" I'll probably talk to her later," Hazel said scratching her neck and sighing, " how are you two though?"

" Best as we can be," Gene said with a small smile.

" Especially in all this damn cold." Lizzie said with a tiny grin.

" Yeah, me too." Hazel said with a tiny grin. And the two medics genuinely smiled.

" Stay warm for us, and get some sleep." Hazel said softly to the two and they grinned wider, even in the chill of the night.

" Stay warm, Hazel." Gene said with a smile and Lizzie grinned at her with a nod. Hazel smiled softly and then turned and trekked back towards Chuck, her nose running as she did so, but it always did that whenever it was cold. After breakfast, Hazel moved back to her foxhole, where she knew Shifty would be sat.

" Hey, Parker!" a voice called, and Hazel stopped and turned to see Liebgott coming towards her, his nose equally as bright and equally as red.

" Joe!" Hazel said as he approached her. She hadn't seen him since the truck ride over really to their start off point for the march into the Ardennes. The second Joe had seen the tiny person walking through the snow, with the bright red nose, he knew it was Hazel. Even just one night in the blistering cold of Bastogne had given her nose the bright red tint, and redness around her blue eyes. He thought her eyes were still bright and her 2 dimples had appeared in the smile she offered him. 

" Was wondering where you went, I haven't seen you since yesterday." he said, as he reached forward to tip her huge helmet up from her eyes. She smirked.

" Shifty and I were digging out along the line and then I was out like a light, then I went to breakfast to ask Lizzie and Gene how Catherine was. She looked stressed, supposedly just something with Dike." Hazel told him and Joe sighed to himself.

" Reoccurring theme here seems to be Dike." Joe muttered, clearly annoyed.

" Hey," Hazel said, rubbing his arm, " it'll be fine. We have Catherine, we have Winters and we have the NCOs, and Lip." 

" Yeah, but Winters is stuck in Battalion, he can't do shit when Dike starts wandering off." Joe said.

" Wandering off?" Hazel asked him.

" Yeah, supposedly Dike woke up and was on his way to Regiment." Joe said, " You ask my he was just sent here to get experience, turns out he needed experience before he even decided to show up here." Hazel smirked slightly, as they walked through the snowed in forest.

" And don't even get me fucking started on when he didn't thing you were a sniper." Joe said as Hazel just shook her head with a tiny smile. 

" Put him in his place though, when I cleaned that dummy's head straight off." Hazel said with a tiny grin. She heard Joe snort from beside her.

" That showed him." Joe said, with a snicker.

" Hazel Parker!" a voice called as Joe and Hazel froze and turned to see it was none other than Lieutenant Dike stalking towards them, wide eyes frantic with unwanted concern. 

" Yes, sir?" Hazel asked, as Joe glanced at her.

" Sergeant Lipton, he told me you had to go on OP duty. Supposedly one's been dug out." he said.

" Sir, what OP, there's multiple." Hazel asked him quickly, confused.

" He said there's one around here." Dike said looking past her and Joe, " I'm not sure, he just told me to find you and that you and Powers I believe are on duty first." 

" Yes, sir." Hazel said as Dike nodded and then walked right past them. Hazel and Joe watched side by side as Dike walked away, with the audacity to be whistling as he did so.

" We are in the middle of a fucking war, right?" Joe muttered. Hazel glanced at Joe.

" I don't think he cares." Hazel said. And that wasn't in any way going to be beneficial to the men and women of Easy Company.

" You sure you're staying warm?" Joe asked Hazel as they approached the foxhole where Shifty sat, cleaning his weapon.

" Yeah, of course I am." Hazel said.

" Well, you're tiny, Hazel, and tiny and cold don't exactly mesh if you think of it." Joe said as Hazel smirked. She watched Joe's eyes search hers softly. Joe wished he could do something more to make her warmer, but he could barely maintain 98.6 for himself. She looked like she was freezing. 

" Right, well I'll be sure to wrap up extra tight at night." Hazel said, as she grinned at him. Joe smiled softly.

" See ya." he called as he turned and headed off into the woods again. Hazel turned to Shifty and sat down beside him in the foxhole, pulling her own weapon into her lap and sighing.

" Dike wants us on OP." Hazel told him, as she glanced his way. Shifty looked at her and sighed.

" Supposedly he wandered off again." Shifty said, shaking his head, " At least that's what Lip said." Hazel sighed.

" We haven't even been here 24 hours and all he does is wander off." Hazel said with a sigh.

" Are we surprised?" Shifty asked, eyes looking rather exhausted in the faint, dreary light. 

" Not entirely. He screwed up big time back at Mourmelon, and got on Catherine's bad side quicker than he should've." Hazel said as Shifty chuckled.

" Some people never learn." Shifty said as Hazel grinned. 

The two sharpshooters made way to the frozen OP, or at least the one they had thought they had to go to because Dike had never specified, and climbed in. The area was easy to slide into, and had a little window to look out of towards the German lines. Shifty and Hazel sat quietly, as they looked out on the German lines for the first time, in a long time. It was an odd feeling, they were right over there, eating, and living just as they were. 

It was weird. 

Lizzie walked through the white forest, her arms across her chest, cold, shuddering breaths escaping her lungs as she felt her toes growing slightly numb with each step. Her medic satchel felt frozen shut at her side, and each time she moved, she felt it become heavier. Her shoulder ached. Her face was cold to the touch, it stung each time her face, hit the fabric of her collar. She was out on her daily rounds she did, something she was loving to do more because then she could usually scrounge up some supplies from the men, something she was in need of more often now. 

Gene had managed a few bandages from Skip that morning after breakfast and had given her two of them, before he was off, searching for more. It's all the medics could do, like passing the time, waiting for the fateful call for a medic. Lizzie approached a group of foxholes as her tired eyes searched for someone. Her eyes went to Babe Heffron who sat in his foxhole with Private John Julian who she had walked a majority of the way here beside.

" Hey, Babe." Lizzie called as she approached the foxhole from behind, crouching down by his side with a small smile.

" Hey, Doc, how's it going?" Babe asked her as he turned to her, offering a boyish smile her way.

" Hi Doc!" Julian called as Lizzie sent a smile his way.

" You got any morphine by chance, or bandages, or your aid kit?" she asked him, " I don't mean to interrupt you two, I just, I'm low on everything really and was hoping some of the guys had stuff from Holland." 

" Yeah, yeah, I have a few bandages." Babe said as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a few tiny rolls.

" Thanks so much, Babe." Lizzie said as she took the tiny rolls and placed them in her medic satchel, before looking at Julian who had outstretched hand with a med-kit.

" All of us were given these when we arrived, but you could use it more." Julian said, and Lizzie smiled gratefully as she took the tiny kit in her hands.

" Thank you two, thank you so much." Lizzie said as she pushed that into her medic satchel and closed the latch shut. 

" Are you doing ok, Doc?" Julian asked her as she whipped her running nose.

" Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine, but I should be asking you two that." Lizzie said with a forced smile. 

" Oh c'mon Doc, you're still human. You ok?" Babe asked her.

" Just a sore throat." Lizzie said, " But it's fine, I promise." Babe gave her a look.

" What?"

" Has Gene checked it out, with one of those popsicle stick things?" Babe asked her.

" No, but it's fine. Cold air and a throat aren't exactly best friends." Lizzie said as Babe chuckled. Julian snickered. 

" Well, I gotta get moving, stay warm boys." Lizzie said as she stood up, and scurried away. She wasn't lying about the sort throat, but she was lying about how much it did hurt. It was aching and each time she spoke it hurt, and she tried to show it didn't hurt, but she didn't want anyone to stress and worry and become worried for her when that was here job.

" Hey Joe." Lizzie said as she approached Joe Toye who sat in his foxhole.

" Lizzie, thought that was you." Joe said as he sat up, looking towards her as she smiled, crouching beside the foxhole, " What's up?"

" I'm just looking for some supplies, we're low." Lizzie said. 

" Well, here, I got a few things." Joe said as he stood, and leaned against the edge of the foxhole as he pulled things out of belt and pockets.

" Morphine." Joe said, placing it down in front of her, before digging back into his pocket. Lizzie took the morphine with a smile before glancing back at Joe who was pulling out another thing from his pocket.

" Bandages," Joe said, holding it in front of her face with a smile. She grinned and took it from him.

" And this, whatever it is, figured you could use it." Joe said and brought it out.

" Gauze." Lizzie confirmed as she picked it up and twirled it in her fingers, looking at it.

" Yeah, yeah, _that_." Joe said, as he patted his pockets again.

" You and Gene cleaned me out." he said, " It'll be a wonder if I ever take a hit, what I'll use to patch myself up." Lizzie glanced at him.

" I'll be there." Lizzie said as Joe smiled softly at her. 

" I know you will." Joe said. Lizzie grinned.

" I gotta get moving, but I'll see ya around." she said and gave a tiny mock salute to him, before jumping up and hurrying off again. 

That was her constant worry. 

Joe Toye was her friend, like many of the other men of the company, and it was something she beat herself up everyday for. By getting attached, you always ended up in pain afterwards because then something went wrong. Like death or injury. Gene had told her before that in training in Aldbourne, they always had preached not to get attached, because you were either watching the soldier take their last breath or watching them cry in utter pain. But she couldn't help it, she was a people-person. And she knew she would be screwed over in some way in the end. 

But she would risk anything for any one of those men or women. 

Lizzie continued trekking through the wilderness, her eyes peeled for others, when suddenly there was a loud whistle above her, skyrocketing through the sky, and sounded like it were just above her. 

Something landed in the ground not too far from Lizzie, causing a force to push her onto her back on the ground and the air to escape her lungs. There were explosions and shards and shrapnel flying everywhere suddenly, and it left Lizzie's ears ringing. Lizzie struggled to get to her feet as she ran through the explosions searching for a foxhole to get into.

" Get in your foxholes!" she heard Lip's voice yelling, as snow and dirt exploded in front of Lizzie, causing her to stumble backwards. 

What was going on?


	69. shellings

" True friends are burning stars, they shine brightest on those darkest nights."

_\- Atticus_

✰✰✰

Lizzie couldn't even describe what the feeling was, watching these explosions go off in front of her. It was like huge shells dropping on them and exploding just above the tree tops, to send shrapnel and wood down on top of them. 

" Lizzie!" a voice suddenly yelled and Lizzie froze, her head snapping to the sound. The cry was guttural and raw.

" Doc!" the voice yelled again as Lizzie turned, searching for the source of the yelling again. 

" Medic!" there it was, the call she was listening for. Lizzie pushed up from the ground, running through the exploding shards, straining for the sound again. An explosion nearly went off on her, as she sprinted faster forward, a hand pressed to her helmet as she gave one final push off her leg and jumped into the foxhole where the yelling was coming from. Lizzie fell in a heap into the foxhole, her back cramming up in the corner, as she struggled to sit up and push her helmet from her eyes.

" Doc please!" the replacement in front of her cried, as blood seeped from evident wounds in his arm. The other replacement in the foxhole was quivering, his hands bloodied with his friend's blood. 

" Hey, hey, look at me. It's ok." Lizzie said quickly, reaching forward as the explosions continued off around them. The replacement let out a sob again, as his replacement buddy came up to his side.

" Hey, you heard her, it's ok. You're ok." he said and Lizzie felt a small smile on her face as she reached into her bag for a bandage. 

" You didn't puncture any main artery, but I'm gonna wrap you up, so then a jeep can be called." Lizzie said. He nodded, wiping the tears from his cheeks with his good arm. Lizzie gently cut open the fabric of the cloth where the wound was with her scissors which sat in her front pocket, before assessing the internal wound, where there was no main artery.

" I have to pull out the shrapnel, ok, honey?" Lizzie said softly and the replacement nodded, sniffling. Lizzie gently grabbed the piece of shrapnel and pulled it out, as the replacement gritted his teeth. She pulled out the other two before flinging them to the side and to the ground. She reached into her bag and pulled out the sulfa packet that sat near the top of the messy bag. She ripped open the bag with her teeth and began pouring it on to clot the wound the best she could. She then threw the packet down before pulling out a bandage and wrapping it up the best she could, quickly tying it off. 

" I need you to get to the CP, call for a jeep, ok?" Lizzie said as the friend of the injured replacement nodded. Lizzie looked up and out of the foxhole, the explosions were dying off, until there seemed to be none left. The replacement jumped out of the hole as Lizzie turned to the replacement.

" I was briefed last night, you'll be taken to Bastogne where they'll take good care of you there, ok?" Lizzie said softly and the replacement nodded. 

" Let's get you up." Lizzie said as the replacement stood and Lizzie helped him out of the foxhole. As the two were walking through the snow, Lizzie couldn't help but look at the mess the explosions left behind. She saw Lip hurriedly moving through the ranks, calling out to people.

" Hey, Lip!" Lizzie called. Lip turned at the sound of his name and came running over.

" Hey, you ok?" Lip said as he noticed the injured soldier.

" A jeep's been called." Lizzie said quickly, " What the hell were those?" 

" I don't know, must've been some kind of detonating explosion that the Germans were able to send over to our side." Lip said, " If I find out though, I'll tell ya."

" Ok," Lizzie said, before looking at the replacement, " let's get you to the jeep." 

" Hey, Doc?" the replacement asked her as she looked towards him, " Did you have to run through all that?"

" You were calling for me," Lizzie said with a small smile, " if the call comes, I'd run through anything." The replacement smiled at her, gratefully. 

" Thanks for running through all that." he said. Lizzie smiled softly.

" I always would." Lizzie said, and smiled at him. She helped him up onto the jeep that had arrived. As a medic, it was her duty to save the people of her company, her family, her brothers in arms. 

She would run through hell for them, if it meant that they were safe on the other side. 

Catherine was already moving up to the CP after jumping out of the foxhole she had fell into on her rounds she was making, while not so secretly looking for DIke. To say Catherine was overwhelmed looking for Dike in this ice block was _understatement_. Her job allowed her to be with the company and with Battalion, but if Dike didn't even know that, then how was she supposed to work with him. She would find a way though, she always did. But then explosions rocketed off above her and well, plans changed. Her trek to the CP took longer than she had wanted, as she stopped by foxholes to make sure the men were ok.

" Dick!" Catherine called as she approached the CP and saw the red-headed Lieutenant standing outside looking up at the sky. He turned to look at her before looking up at the sky again.

" You got a clue what those were?" Catherine asked, her vision moving up to the sky again.

" Supposedly, it's German shells, they shot them over to us and they detonate in the trees." Winters said, rubbing his hands together. Catherine bit her lip. That was an easy way to kill the other enemy. 

" Is that what I tell the men if they ask?" Catherine asked.

" Yeah," Winters said, " just until we have more information." 

" I also have another question, sir, I, uh, I can't find Dike." Catherine asked him as he finally met her eyes, his vision finally drawn away from the sight of the sky and the explosion of the trees above.

" Oh, Dike." Nixon said appearing from the CP a tiny cup of coffee in his cup he held.

" We were being shelled and you made coffee?" Catherine asked him.

" It takes a second to heat it up." Nixon said and Catherine smirked. 

" Dike's up at Regiment." Winters said and Catherine met his eyes.

" He needed the experience right, Dike?" Nixon said, a slight sarcastic tone in his voice as he said that. Winters looked annoyed, more than usual. 

" Well, if he shows up tell him 2nd Lieutenant McCown is looking for him, alright?" Catherine asked them.

" Don't worry, we'll send him you're way. He'll be sure to get put in his place." Nixon said with a smirk. Catherine smirked, and then tipped her helmet, before turning and heading off again back through the woods, praying that maybe Dike would step out from behind a tree or something. 

That wasn't to be true though. 

So Catherine continued through the forest in search of Lip, whom she found, with the rest of the Lieutenants.

" He's nowhere." Catherine said as she stood next to Lip and looked at the group. Lip sighed. 

" What do we do then? What are we supposed to tell the men, especially with those shellings?" Peacock asked the group.

" The truth?" Buck offered, " That the Germans are shooting shells over to us, and that they'll be taking cover when they hear it." 

" I'm on board." Shames said.

" You think Dike wants us telling them that?" Peacock asked.

" You think he cares? He's up at Regiment right now, doing God-Know's-What." Catherine said, " We're probably going to be shelled as long as we are here, we'll tell them that."

" And remain calm, ok?" Lip said, " That was already a bit terrifying and it's cold enough, so just let them know, an advisement." 

" Right," a few agreements came, before they broke off again. Catherine felt a heavy weight in her heart. Dike should be there, telling them what to tell the men as their CO, but instead he's at Regiment, keeping warm, away from the line and not leading his company. 

Hazel and Shifty had been in the OP when the shellings had started, and they had crouched down in the lowest point of the OP to stay protected as best they could. But now it was eerily calm and quiet, and all they saw was falling snow. So all they could assume was to act like things were normal and that it was the Germans' way of attacking the Americans without leaving their slightly warm foxholes. Hazel sat for a bit with her gun aimed forward, so she could get a closer look with her scope. Shifty sat beside her, his gentle doe eyes trained on the sight in front of him, simply inspecting it all, as if he were reading a really good book.

" You ever remember a time this cold, Shifty?" Hazel asked him as Shifty didn't pull his gaze from where he faced the frontline.

" No, I can't, my dad used to say that when it got real cold like this though, that the summers would be really hot." Shifty said with a smile her way. Hazel felt her heart warm; she hoped what Shifty said was true. A hot summer would be blissful, where ever they would be.

" I hope." Hazel said, " I'm starting to forget what warmth actually feels like." 

" Me too," Shifty said through a shiver as he crossed his arms and leaned up against the OP with her.

" What do you think your mom is doing right now?" he asked her, looking towards her. Hazel shrugged.

" What day is it?" she asked.

" Sunday?" he said, questioning even that.

" Well, I suppose she would've just gotten home from Church." Hazel said with a smile, " And since it's God's day, she would've then taken to sitting out on the porch and reading the Bible; we always did that together even when I was younger. And then she'd make a feast, a big one, filled with all of our favorite Polish foods and of course some new dishes she'd picked up of American food, stuff she put a twist on. I'd make mashed potatoes, with a lot of butter."

" That sounds so good." Shifty said as his eyes looked towards the German frontlines again.

" That's what my mom always says," Hazel said reminiscing those Sundays, " and after we ate, we would sometimes build a fire, in winter especially, and sit around on the couches and listen to the radio and talk or read and just enjoy being home and warm. Or in the summer, we'd sit outside, and watch the sunset over the mountains. It was beautiful."

" That reminds me of home," Shifty said, " I live in a little place of Chincho, Virginia, out in the mountains, you know the Appalachian mountains. They got the most beautiful sunsets, reminds me of when my dad and I would go out and hunt under nightfall together." 

" Sounds like you and your dad are close," Hazel said with a smile, thinking of her own father, whom she could barely remember what his face today looked like.

" Dad's the best shot I'll ever know, of course besides you, Hazel," Shifty said smiling at her, and Hazel smiled at him, " taught me all his tricks, how to scope one out, crouch down, watch the creature come into view. Then he taught me how to use all parts of the creature. He always used all the parts, no matter what we killed." Hazel smiled.

" I hated when my dad would kill a deer and not use all the parts." Hazel said.

" Yeah, I hate when I see that, so dad and I would just find ways for all the parts. My ma would find ways too, every part was always useful." he said, and Hazel had to smile.

" It'll be nice, when this is all over and we can see those sunsets again, with no war." she said, her smile dropping a bit at the thought. 

" Yeah," Shifty said looking to her, " hopefully that's soon." The two sat for a while in OP, eyes trained on what was in front of them, talking quietly together every so often under the cloudy afternoon. They switched OP duty with Smokey and More after a little while longer and then were able to head back and grab some much needed dinner, which was lukewarm beans that were fairly tasteless, but it was food. 

And it was calories. 

Camp Athene had been adamant on calories and making sure that even if it was the most disgusting food, you ate your fill, you never knew when you'd get that again. Hazel stood idly, nibbling on her food, trying to savor each fairly cold bite, shivering as she pulled the frozen fork up to her mouth. She had never felt colder as she ate her fill. 

She saw Lizzie slowly wander back in for food, but something that sent her eye brows raised up was the coughing that Lizzie had done about twice by the time Hazel had seen her. Her nose was red and runny, and she was coughing and her eyes were sunken in. Hazel quickly made her way over to Lizzie, her worry riled up.

" Lizzie!" Hazel called softly and Lizzie looked up from her frozen crossed arms stance to see the young sniper coming towards her. 

" Hazel," Lizzie said, her voice sounding clogged and stuffed up, " hey."

" Are you ok?" Hazel asked her, placing a hand on her arm. Lizzie offered a smile, that seemed forced, like it were hiding something. 

" Yeah, my throat's just a bit scratchy, but it's fine." Lizzie promised. Hazel had to trust Lizzie's instincts. Virtually everyone out here had stuffed noses from the cold and sore throats. Hazel figured that's all it was.

" Are you sure?" Hazel asked softly. Lizzie nodded.

" Yeah, I'm fine, I promise." Lizzie said with a nod. Hazel watched as Lizzie then turned and let out a nasty sounding cough, as she hacked a few more times to clear her throat, before turning back and looking at Hazel.

" I'm fine, I promise." Lizzie said with a nod and Hazel watched her with soft eyes, " I have to grab some food and then head back out. I'll see ya." Hazel watched as Lizzie stepped around her then and went to the food line, concealing yet another wet sounding cough. Hazel worriedly bit her lip and watched Lizzie accept her food and then go and sit alone, eating her food quietly. Hazel's heart felt sad, seeing the girl sit alone, eating her food, looking ill and like the last thing she wanted to do was eat food. 

Hazel knew Lizzie wasn't ok; she was usually accompanied by that of Tab or George or sometimes Malarkey, Skip and Penkala or even Babe or Gene or Joe Toye. She usually was never alone. Now, she was sitting there, looking miserable. But Hazel had to trust her like she always did, she had said she was fine. 

That night in the foxholes, Hazel sat, looking up at the sky, which was a dark black with evident clouds, so you couldn't see the stars that wanted to peak through. Shifty was asleep beside her, but she couldn't seem to find the sleep she begged desperately for, so she remained awake, watching the empty black sky roll by without a hint of a single star. Hazel reached instead into her collar and pulled the Star of David out and stared at it, with sad eyes. She gently pressed the metal to her lips, kissing it softly as she shut her eyes, praying softly to herself to peace and for protection.

" My Lord above, please let us carry forth into safety and protection and a peaceful future for all. Guide us with your strength to greater and better things and let us become safe once again. Amen." Hazel whispered softly. She let the chain drop down again and then settled back, her heart sad. 

She tried to imagine the little white flower, the Edelweiss that Joe had told her was the symbol of a true soldier, sitting upon the German soldiers' collars on the opposite side of them. Her mind automatically went to Joe after that, and she bit back her chapped lip gently. 

Paris had been on her mind for a few days after their early-Christmas visit. She hoped someday soon when this was all over they'd get that again that freedom, maybe she'd even get that freedom with Joe again. She sighed to herself, before gently resting her head on Shifty's shoulder and curling up into a tiny ball, finally resting and putting herself into a fitful sleep. 

On the 2nd morning of their arrival in Bastogne, it had snowed heavily in the night, so much so, that there was at least a foot outside. The day was uneventful to say the least, as people switched OP duty, stayed in their foxholes, medics came asking for supplies, aching to get their tired, cold hands on a spit of supplies, and Battalion stressing to find out where Lieutenant Dike had gone next. Hazel thought that Battalion shouldn't always have to worry about Dike's whereabouts, he was a CO, who had commanding duties of a company of men and women, but it seemed that they were the least of his worries as most of the times, they were left without a CO. 

Hazel noticed though that Catherine managed to fill in enough for Dike's incompetence as a trustworthy leader, making the tough decisions through the day, making sure men understood orders, that the first few patrols that were sent out, returned but were understanding of the simple orders provided. But it seemed all the Lieutenants as well as Lip and the NCOs were doing the same, what they could at least, to fill in for Dike. Hazel was sat in her foxhole when Gene popped up beside her with his bright, red nose.

" Hey, Gene!" Hazel said as she looked up and saw the man crouched by her foxhole side.

" Hey, cherie, you got any morphine? Bandages?" he asked her quietly, his accent thicker than normal. Stress, worry, concern; they laced his voice and the accent.

" Yeah, I think." Hazel said, as she shifted and pulled out a thing of tightly clasped bandages. 

" Here ya go." Hazel said passing up the bandages to Gene with a small smile. A smile went a long way.

" Thank you," Gene said as he turned to place them into his satchel," you staying warm enough?"

" Warm as I can." Hazel said.

" We don't call you Tiny for nothing." Gene said and Hazel giggled. Gene offered a small smile before standing.

" Hey, is, uh, is Lizzie ok?" Hazel asked stopping the man in his tracts. Gene turned and glanced at her over his shoulder.

" For now, she's not feeling too great though." Gene said and Hazel's heart missed a beat. Being sick across the world sucked. In Aldbourne, even with Grace and Harry who made her feel like their daughter, she still felt like not being home made her feel worst. 

She couldn't describe the feeling, but it was a horrible thing to feel.

" Do you have any penicillin?" Hazel asked him. Gene frowned.

" We haven't been resupplied, it's why we're scrounging." he said, " If I did, she'd been the first to get it." Hazel nodded.

" You stay warm, Gene." Hazel said. Gene smiled softly and nodded before trekking back into the afternoon fog. Hazel prayed for Lizzie's health, especially now. Catherine, on her way as usual for the daily briefing for the Lieutenants, was admittedly late but for the first time in months; she had been helping some replacements with their foxhole covers and was making sure it was fortified well enough.

" Lieutenant McCown!" Lieutenant Dike called as she approached him, and Catherine raised a brow as Buck sent a smirk her way. 

" Shit." she muttered as she approached them.

" Lieutenant," she said as she had approached and saluted.

" Where were you, McCown?" he asked her.

" Uh, looking for you, sir." she said and grimaced at the slightly sarcastic tone she adorned.

" Right, well, join us over here." he said as he led her towards the group of Lieutenants who stood in a huddled group as the snow came down. Catherine approached, anger written prominently on her features. Dike began speaking, words that seemed to not make sense flowed from his mouth, as Catherine glanced towards the other Lieutenants. So now here she was, a seething bomb, thinking back on it all. 

Where had Dike gone? 

Catherine left the mini briefing, muttering incoherent words over and over. 

How were they supposed to lead a charge within a few days, when their CO wasn't even here half the time? 

What type of intelligence did it take to become a CO? 

Clearly not much. 


	70. crazy boys

" We are all broken that's how the light gets in."

_\- Ernest Hemingway_

✰✰✰

Hazel had been in her foxhole alone when the first shelling of the day occurred, raining down on them as if God was throwing them down himself. Hazel had dove for the covered side of the foxhole, pressing herself against the Earthy wall, forcing her eyes shut closed, as she wrapped her arms around her head, praying for the world to stop shaking underneath and all around her. It was like a billion fireworks going off at once, upending the Earth and shaking it all at once. Hazel's ears rung with each explosion and each quiver made her stomach lurch. She just wanted the world to stop shaking, she wanted it all to stop. And then it did, just like that it was over, as she began to hear voices again. 

" Stay in your foxholes." she heard Lip's voice say somewhere in the distance. Hazel slowly uncurled herself from against the wall and moved towards the opening of the foxhole, throwing a few bits of shrapnel from the opening to the outside. She weakly looked around, softly gulping as she took in the sight all around her. People slowly climbing out of their foxholes, looking around, making sure people in their foxholes nearby were ok.

" Hazel!" she heard a voice cry and she looked up to see Shifty coming towards her in a frenzied panic. 

" Shifty! You scared me, when I didn't see you." Hazel said as Shifty slid down into the foxhole and didn't hesitate to wrap her in a warm hug. The minute he hugged her, Hazel felt like crying. A hug meant so much in a cold wasteland such as this and couldn't brighten anyone's mood. Hazel wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged Shifty closer, she had never appreciated her friend as much as she did now.

" I feared the worst," Shifty said as he pulled back and looked at her, " a replacement back there, got his whole arm blown off, Lizzie and Gene are there now. Neither look too good though." Hazel bit her lip worriedly. 

" Who was it?" Hazel asked him.

" Robert Lennings." Shifty said, and Hazel sighed softly; she couldn't imagine.

" Lizzie's getting sick." Hazel said softly, as Shifty's eyes softened slightly. 

" Really?" he asked weakly and Hazel nodded. 

" And they can't do much for her, but now she's pushing herself even harder." Hazel said, " I'm worried."

" You're not the only one." Shifty said, " Bumped into her this morning, she barely even made eye contact." Hazel's heart skipped a beat, that was unlike Lizzie. She always smiled and cracked a joke and then would make sure you were alright. 

" I'll try talking to her again, later." Hazel said, rubbing a cold hand on her cold forehead with a sigh. So, Hazel went later to the medic foxhole, where she knew either Gene or Lizzie would most likely be. Hazel slowly approached it and crouched by the side, seeing Gene and Lizzie both inside, exchanging supplies.

" I lost my damn scissors." she heard Gene mutter to Lizzie, as Gene let out an angry huff, pushing against the pocket where the scissors had disappeared from. 

" We'll find you another pair, I'm sure they're somewhere." Lizzie said softly with a nod as Gene nodded looking at her. Gene sighed. 

" Hey," Hazel said and both medics looked up towards Hazel crouched by the side of their foxhole.

" Hazel," Lizzie said, a forced smile on her face. Gene gave a forced smile as well. 

" Can we talk for a sec, Lizzie?" Hazel asked the medic, looking at her with a soft expression.

" Sure," Lizzie said as she pushed herself to stand, coughing into her arm as she did so, with a stern look that followed from Gene. Hazel led Lizzie to a small side of the forest, and then looked at her.

" Lizzie, I'm worried for you." Hazel whispered, her voice sounding louder than it actually was in the desolate wasteland. Lizzie looked at Hazel.

" Hazel, I'm fine, I promise, it's just because it's cold out." Lizzie promised. But Hazel stared at her. 

" Lizzie, I know you're getting sick. And overworking your self to accomplish things won't help you get better, especially here." Hazel said softly. Lizzie bit her lip and then looked away.

" Just trust me, Hazel, I promise that I'm ok and you don't have to worry about me." Lizzie said, squeezing her shoulder gently. Hazel sighed internally watching Lizzie sat that with evident sickness in her eyes. But Hazel let her walk away; her first mistake. 

Joe Liebgott slid into her foxhole that afternoon, as Hazel forced herself to watch the sky through the trees, searching for a bit of blue sky. She couldn't find any.

" Hi Joe," Hazel said as Joe glanced over at her, looking at the sky in wonder. 

" What are you looking for?" he asked her. Hazel smiled and then sighed before looking at Joe.

" The sky." she said and met his eyes with her own hopeful eyes. Joe felt a smile creep onto his face. His damn heart missed a beat.

" You staying warm?" he asked her softly. Hazel glanced towards him.

" Best I can," she said with a hopeful smile in his direction, crossing her arms tightly over her chest," but I try to ignore it." He watched her face grow concentrated, his eyebrows furrow as she bit back her lip.

" What's on your mind?" Joe asked her, watching as she glanced towards him and a small laugh escaped her.

" It's stupid, Joe." she said. Joe quirked a smirk her way.

" Really? Try me, Parker." Joe said and Hazel grinned, shrugging.

" I don't know, as a little girl you always think about life when you're older and stuff like that," Hazel said and Joe watched her softly, " I've just been thinking a lot about life, after the war." Joe dropped the smirk and a smile filled his features.

" Just the little things, what I might name my first daughter, or what pictures I might hang up in my living room, just little things like that." Hazel said, with a shrug, a small smile. Joe watched Hazel smile and then loop her fingers together, nodding softly. 

" You got a name in mind?" Joe asked her and she glanced towards him, fighting down the tiny blush that was on her cheeks.

" I don't know," she said, a nervous giggle escaping her lips, she never had told anyone she thought about this often. 

" Why you nervous, it's just me." Joe said as she giggled softly again.

" Juliette." Hazel said quietly, with a small nod, before peaking up at Joe who watched her intently, " Not from Romeo and Juliet, but the French way. There was a girl in my elementary school who spelled her name that way and she was always so nice to me. I've always liked the name." Hazel smiled fondly, as if a memory were resurfacing in her brain. 

" It's a pretty name." Joe said and Hazel looked up at Joe.

" Yeah," Hazel said," I don't know, it's a unique spelling, I like it." Joe smiled at her, and she smiled brightly back. 

Even in the cold, she found a way to smile and that warmed his heart because currently she was the only thing making him smile. 

Catherine was assigned orders to make daily runs into the town nearby. Bastogne, they're only source of medical supplies, possibly clothing, blankets and shoes, and food. And she was willing to make as many runs as possible if it meant all the guys were equipped for the icy winter that the Ardennes offered. George Luz had wonderfully agreed to join her on the journey to Bastogne in the cold.

" You know, George, I studied the Ardennes in college, when I took my geography course. We did a full year on central Europe." she said as she looked around at the sloping trees, covered in the bitter snow that riddled the entire ground. Her teeth chattered as she looked around before glancing over at George who had a smile on his face.

" Tell me that's not the only thing you did it college," George said as he sent her a cheeky wink. Catherine rolled her eyes with a chuckle. 

" How long were you there?" George asked her curiously.

" 3 years, but I stopped mid year of my 4th so that I could join SPARs, I don't regret it." Catherine said with a nod," Best decision of my life." George grinned as they continued walking forward. Catherine smiled. 

" 'Course some of the guys there were total assholes, but I wasn't entirely surprised," Catherine said.

" Did ya scare the shit out of them with those presentations of yours?" George asked with a smirk and Catherine grinned.

" Oh yeah," Catherine said with a slight laugh, " they didn't want to work with me, because they said I cheated when in reality I studied instead of got drunk every Friday. Paid off I'd say." George grinned and looked towards her. But both their smiles fell once they reached the town of Bastogne. 

Catherine's footsteps slowed as she looked around at the buildings which looked bombed in, dark grays and whites the only prominent colors amongst the entirety of the picture that was painted with bits of burning fire in various places. The roads were filled with ongoing mud and slush from snow and ice being mixed in, and once your boot hit the surface, it was automatically a magnet for the substance. And it was blistering cold, the wind racing around every corner of the town, slamming into you like a brick wall. 

Catherine looked up towards the pale blue sky, which lay devoid of all color, the fog that was lying over the town still persistent in not letting the sun in. The only bit of color was the faded red medic symbol hanging above the church not too far away. But it was the only color. Even the peoples' faces who lived in the town were pale and devoid of emotion, recked by war for almost half a decade, too long. Their clothes were tattered in mud and they were old. They'd been living this for years.

" Hey Mack, look," George said as he bent down to pick up a blanket that didn't have too much mud on it like the rest. Catherine stepped forward and noticed many more, similar to it along the sides of the streets.

" Grab as many as you can George," Catherine said to him patting his shoulder before reaching down along the sides to pull blanket after blanket into her arms. Catherine moved along the sides of the road, picking up blanket after blanket for the men of Easy Company. Soon enough her pile became large and she had a mountain of blankets in her grasp. As she walked around Bastogne, she felt sick to her stomach seeing it all, seeing everything the way it was, all bombed out, seeing the debris everywhere, seeing everything as it was. It was horrid thing to take in and to realize these people had lived like this for years. 

Julius Caesar had entered the region during his time; he called these people the Belgae as they were inhabitants of present-day Belgium, northwestern France and the German Rhineland, or the northern part of Gaul. Julius Caesar has seen them as a different group of people, like a tribe. 

Now, they were just people. They always had been.

Catherine picked her way with the armful of blankets she had towards George who stood with his own armful of blankets.

" Can you believe how this place looks, Mack?" George asked her as she watched his eyes travel the length of all the peaks and window sills of the bombed in homes. 

" No, I can't," she said softly, as she followed his gaze, to where a tattered Belgian flag hung, limply over that of a window. Catherine bit back her lip.

" We should probably get moving back." George told her. Catherine softly nodded, her eyes stuck on the flag lying as it did. 

" Let's go." Catherine said, stepping past him, eyes glossed over. George took an idle walk beside her, giving cautious glances every so often towards the unnaturally quiet Lieutenant who walked with slumped shoulders.

" You okay, Lieutenant?" George asked her. Catherine slowly met his gaze and nodded. 

" Yeah, I'm fine," Catherine said, looking back over her shoulder at the town, " fine." George watched the Lieutenant the rest of the way back to where Easy was camped out. Her gaze remained emotionless and her eyes looked heavy. It scared George, personally. Catherine was a fighter, a naturally positive person and brave, she didn't let anything scare her except well, death. But this, her entire mood changed entering the town.

And that's what truly scared him.

Dinner that night was dreary just like every other meal before it. Catherine had previously gone around delivering a single blanket to each foxhole for the men to share, before heading around and doing what rounds she could do for each member of the company before heading back to CP and doing a geography report for Winters. Her mind was still fogged over by the reality and horror that had struck Bastogne previously but she tried to not let it bother her, even if it floated with her. And Richard Winters seemed to notice that, but they just read each other easily.

" How're you doing, Catherine?" Winters asked her, and she glanced up at him from her scarf. 

" I'm ok, especially for it being below freezing." she said, " Fucking cold." Winters no longer her gave her a look when she cursed, looking at the current conditions, cursing seemed needed to get through. Winters was now just looking at her because she was freezing. Her ears were red and so was her nose, and under her eyes were dark rings of evident exhaustion. Her brown eyes were sad, filled with anger and frustration.

" Have you eaten?" Winters asked her and she glanced up at him. 

" No," she said quietly.

" You should," Winters told her and she knew he was right. Winters did rounds each night, just like the NCOs and the medics and the Lieutenants. He knew she didn't sleep well at night, she was never in her foxhole with Peacock when he dropped by. She was always out on rounds. He hadn't seen her eat in a while either. 

" I'm not that hungry, Dick," she said quietly, using his first name nickname, with soft pleading eyes. Winters looked at her. The two held eye contact for a second. It was Bastogne, it had made her sick to be there and now thinking of it standing here, she felt sick to her stomach and food was least palatable thing she could imagine at the moment.

" Honestly," she said with a nod, before swallowing and looking back towards the men getting their food. 

" I'm gonna try and get some rest." Catherine said, before turning away. Winters watched her walk away through the cold, where Peacock joined her at her side with his own food, offering some to her but she declined. He was worried. 

That night it snowed a lot again, and Lizzie and Gene moved through the foxholes to make sure everyone was bedding down ok. Lizzie was freezing her butt off, and she could feel her toes going numb again as she moved through the foxholes her arms crossed. She peaked into each foxhole, checking to see if the boys were asleep yet. When she did, she scurried off again to the next one, hoping they got their well deserved sleep.

" Hey, boys," she called to Skip and Malarkey who were huddled together side by side in their foxhole.

" Lizzie!" the two called out in a quiet whisper noticing the medic there, smiles on their faces.

" You two still up?" she asked them.

" Don't worry, Doc, we're just talking, we're staying warm though, for your sake." Malarkey promised her. She smiled bashfully and nodded to them.

" Thanks," she said, and met their eyes.

" You stay warm too, alright?" Skip said, " You looked a little pale earlier today." Lizzie smiled softly; she knew the boys were just looking out for her. Gene had mentioned the same thing to her earlier in the day.

" Yeah, definitely," Lizzie said with a soft nod, " get some rest." The two men smiled as she hurried off and slid past Johnny's foxhole. 

" Hey Johnny," Lizzie said as she approached it.

" Hey, Lizzie," Johnny said as he sat up a small smile blossoming on his face, " you feeling ok?" There it was again.

" Yeah, I'm fine, how are you though? Are you staying warm?" she asked him.

" Don't worry about me, kid, I'm worried for you," Johnny said as he slowly stood and shuffled to the edge of the foxhole, " you sure you're okay?" She nodded.

" I'll be okay," she said, " it's cold, but everyone is, I'm just glad we all have each other." Johnny smiled at her.

" We're glad to have you." Johnny said and Lizzie grinned again. These boys always made her grin. 

" Get some rest." Lizzie told him and he nodded as he sat back down. She gave a final smile before hurrying towards Smokey and Alton's foxhole which sat right near Tab and a replacement machine gunner's foxhole.

" Hey," Lizzie said as she slowly crawled inside the little foxhole cover and slipped in beside Alton. 

" Lizzie!" Alton said, as his eyes lit up. She smiled.

" Hey there Lizzie," Smokey said and she smiled gratefully at him. 

" You two staying warm?" she asked, even though she knew they were; it was much nicer inside with the foxhole cover.

" Warm as we can Doc." Alton said as he worked on a Cup of Joe, sipping it, " Want a sip?"

" Yes, please." she said and gladly took a blissful sip of the liquid. it tasted fairly good and was actually warm.

" Almost as warm as that day in Aldbourne on the bike, right?" Lizzie said looking at Alton who chuckled.

" Almost as warm as that, I'd say," Alton said and Lizzie laughed, " Except I didn't get chewed out by Sobel." Smokey snickered.

" Malarkey and I took the hit there, Alton," scoffed Lizzie as Alton snickered beside her sipping his Cup of Joe again. 

" Took it like champs though, he definitely would've told me to go run laps around the airfield." Alton said as Smokey chuckled.

" He definitely would've made you do that." Smokey said, " I'd bet on it." 

" Wanna go?" Alton said as Smokey and Lizzie snickered.

" I gotta get moving, check on Tab and Chuck, but you boys stay warm alright?" Lizzie said.

" Hey you two Doc, you're only human remember?" Smokey called to her, like a mother, pointing his finger at her. She gave the tiny mock salute that the group of her, Smokey, Tab and Shifty usually did that spread to the company.

" Will do." she said as she stood and eventually crawled out into the snow again. She hurried through the bitter forest, checking in on replacements foxholes before hurrying again forward, and finding Chuck and Tab's foxhole where the two were talking quietly together.

" Hey," Lizzie said as she approached and the two looked up, smiles lighting up their chilled faces.

" Elizabeth!" called Tab," Was wondering when you're rounds would finally start and you'd take the trek over to me." Lizzie smirked slightly, sniffling.

" How long are you going to milk that?" Chuck grumbled to him crossing his arms.

" As long as I can there, Chuckles." Tab said and Lizzie suppressed a laugh.

" As you can tell he's been a joy to sleep with." Chuck said looking up at Lizzie who was smirking widely.

" Oh yeah I can tell," Lizzie said as the two chuckled, " at least you didn't have Cobb think you were his wife back home." 

" You're kidding," Tab said as Lizzie laughed.

" Nah, one of those replacements said Cobb was talking in his sleep last night," Lizzie said as Chuck snorted.

" As if my day couldn't get any better," Tab said as the trio laughed.

" Why? How was it already better? Waking up curled beside me in fetal position?" Chuck muttered sarcastically. 

" I can knock you out of this world as fast as Momma Grant brought you in," Tab threatened.

" I'm terrified." Chuck said as Lizzie met his gaze and laughed. She needed this. She just needed seeing the guys everyday to keep her head out of the snow. She loved these guys, and they never failed to bring a smile to her lips whenever she saw them. 

" You two are nuts," she said shaking her head.

" I'll take it as a compliment." Tab said proudly. Chuck gave him a look with a raised brow.

" What type of compliments do you normally get?" Chuck said as Lizzie laughed.

" You two stay here and battle it out, and stay warm," she said as the two looked at her. 

" You stay warm, too," Tab said to her, " we can't have our medics freezing up." She smiled, with the mock salute to him.

" I will, Catherine and George brought back a bunch of blankets today," she said with a smile and the two men genuinely smiled at her. 

" Good night," Chuck called.

" Sweet dreams!" Tab called. 

" Don't let the bed-bugs bite," Chuck said as Lizzie walked away with a smile.

" Did you seriously just say bed-bugs, Chuckles" There's not a single bed-bug in Bastogne, Belgium, we're in a fucking foxhole." Tab said with a scoff.

" They said that about Krauts in Holland and look what happened." Chuck shot back.

" I'm biting my tongue for you, Chuck," Tab murmured back and Lizzie just laughed shaking her head. 

Crazy boys. 

Crazy boys, she loved to be with. 

Once she finished her sector, she headed towards the medic foxhole, where she knew Gene would most likely be. As she reached the foxhole, she saw his little medic helmet and was quick to slip in beside him, diving under the blanket for the two of them, and curling up like a cat to his side as she shivered, hoping her teeth wouldn't start chattering. She heard Gene let out a tiny laugh.

" You okay?" he asked her, " You came in pretty fast." She nodded against his shoulder.

" Fine," she mumbled back, " it's just cold." Gene smiled before gently wrapping his arm over her shoulder and pulling her closer for more warmth, as the two shivered a bit in each other's grasps. The two medics sat in a comfortable silence, listening to the snow fall around them and their medic satchels, making no sound as it touched the floor of the Earth; explosions did make sounds.

" Gene?" Lizzie asked him, as her nose began running and she sniffled to keep it at bay.

" What is it, cherie?" he asked her quietly, looking up through the thin tarp to the falling snow.

" How long do you think its gonna last? All this?" she whispered to him. Gene looked down at his tiny, blonde haired partner, her nose bright red, as her blue eyes met his, shivering against him.

" Soon, I hope, but probably not in time for Christmas." he said softly. Lizzie nodded, usually talking just helped her keep her restless mind at bay when she thought of such things, the darkness that filled her brain sometimes. But she was glad for Gene's quiet company, and his warm arm around her.

" I'm just glad that if the war runs past Christmas that I'm here with you and the girls and the rest of the guys, I couldn't imagine fighting with another company." she said softly, cuddling closer as a shiver racked through her entire body. 

" I'm glad you're here too," Gene said quietly and from the way he said it, Lizzie knew he was smiling, a rarity, but a thing she loved to see. Gene concealed his emotions better than anyone else she knew, even Catherine, so just seeing a little smile from him made her heart warm. The two slowly fell asleep to the silent falling snow. 

They could hear artillery in the night, hitting different areas of the battalion, but Lizzie, sadly, thanked God it wasn't Easy that took the hit that night. 


	71. on the line

" To be alive is the strange and wondrous miracle we forget."

_\- Atticus_

✰✰✰

The next morning brought a 0600 shelling, that forced Lizzie and Gene up from their finally peaceful sleep and running, giving aid to a replacement who's hand was majorly hit. That's when the medical supplies ran out. They had been holding out as long as they could but they knew within days of arriving here they'd be out in a matter of days. 

And Gene's scissors had yet to make any appearance. 

So, after the shelling, Gene went out to try and look for 3rd Battalion to see if he could scrounge up some medical supplies, while Lizzie went from foxhole to foxhole, as the men moved around, checking to make sure they were awoke and eating and moving around and were feeling okay, especially after the shelling which had surprised the majority of them. 

She stopped by Malarkey and Skip's foxhole and they managed to put a smile on her face after telling a few jokes to make her feel better, after they discovered she woke up not feeling 100%. She'd woken up a bit woozy with those shellings, but she ignored it and got to work as usual, but Malarkey and Skip had picked it out of her within seconds. 

Word spread that they were trying to airdrop supplies to the Airborne troops, and that any moment or any day it would be delivered to them. It brightened people's spirits, but everyone still felt the cold that found its way into their bones. 

Lizzie hurried over to Penkala and Bull's foxhole and the trio chatted for a few moments before she moved on again. Bill came up to her, doing his check's on the foxholes, and made her smile, giving her a tight side hug, before she moved onto Babe and Julian. She did this throughout the early hours of morning, and she was happy when she noticed Hazel and Shifty out and about, standing near their foxhole with Lipton, who was checking on them. 

Every NCO, medic and officer did checks on the men and women and it made everyone more comfortable with their current situation. It kept up confidence, morale and spirit. 

Catherine was milling about near Winters, sitting cross legged across from him at his foxhole, as Nixon slept nearby in his own. She was looking at her maps, eyes strained in the early morning. She'd done her report yesterday and Winters had accepted it without even looking it over once, he trusted her instincts. She had done a check along the line at 0700 after the barrage, and it was thinly spread, but Nixon had warned her when he returned from his own look at the line. She let out a sigh as Winters speared his ice, brush hanging out of his mouth. He had preached to Nixon recently about keeping up on hygiene and cleanliness. So he was shaving.

" What did the ice do to you?" Catherine muttered, as Winters glanced at her with his rest nose and let out a shiver as he took the brush from his mouth. He only shook his head, as he began applying the shaving cream he had to his face. 

But suddenly both of them heard a noise behind them, and Catherine's head shot up from her map, as both her and WInters looked towards the source. Catherine heard new footsteps behind her, as Winters told the person to 'Duck'. She could see Gene coming toward them, stumbling a bit through the stone, his footsteps light against the packed in ice. 

Gene stopped quickly and kneeled down eyes training towards where the trio now all looked. Catherine glanced back at Winters who slowly moved the tin of icy water from his lap and grabbed his weapon, giving a quick hand signal for Gene to come forward. Gene slowly stood as Catherine moved to her feet and followed after Winters, Gene by her side. The trio slowly moved, crouched walking forward, looking through the fogging morning towards the sound. Catherine's eyes strained to look at the source. They stopped suddenly and Winters brought up his rifle to point towards the person through the fog. Catherine glanced at Gene who looked at her. She read him with her eyes, and he seemed to do the same. 

Being injured and having him drag her half way across Normandy had instilled some trust bonds between the Lieutenant and the medic. It was mutual. The two looked back towards where Winters held his rifle, pointed.

" Kommen sie hier." Winters said. The person in front of them seemed to be using the bathroom. 

" Kommen sie hier, schnell!" Winters said firmer this time. The person in the fog slowly stood up.

" Schnell!" Winters called forcefully this time. The person shuffled forward, slowly raising his arms up as he appeared through the fog. Catherine's eyes widened. 

It was a German, looking utterly lost and confused. 

Two soldiers put a weapon on him and Winters searched him as Gene and Catherine silently stood side by side, glancing towards the German soldier every so often. The soldier looked towards them, as Winters searched him, with seemingly pleading, hopeful eyes that they'd do something. Winters pulled out a wallet it seemed and pulled out a black and white photo of a couple. His parents. The soldier looked at him. Winters then closed it up and put it back in his pocket. There was still humanity in the war and family. Family was everything right now. The soldier glanced towards Catherine and Gene again as Gene seemingly clenched his jaw looking right back at the soldier. Winters pulled something else from the soldiers pocket.

" Doc, bandage." Winters said before tossing it to Gene. Gene caught it and glanced down at the bandage.

" Take him back to Regiment." Winters said, at the same time that a truck pulled up. The soldiers moved away with the German prisoner as both Catherine and Gene looked to each other before looking towards the truck which held General McAuliffe and Colonel Sink. Strayer slowly wandered up.

" As you all know, General McAuliffe." Sink said, " Acting Division commander." 

" Give it to me straight." McAuliffe said as he looked to Strayer.

" We've been taking ground in one position, General, losing it in another. And now it looks like a stand-off, we're digging in on the edge of the forest." Strayer said nodding to Winters.

" We're under sporadic artillery fire, General. We're taking a lot of hits and we have no aid station," Winters said and Catherine glanced at Gene biting her lip, he glanced at her, " We've run out of food, we have no winter clothes, and we have little or not ammo. The line's spread so thin, the enemy wanders into our CP to use our slit trenches, sir. We just can't cover the line." Suddenly Nixon appeared, flipping open the tarp on his foxhole cover, looking more dead than alive, as he crawled out. Catherine sent him a raised brow.

" Good morning, Captain Nixon." Sink said as Nixon looked up towards him, out of it completely. His eyes widened seeing the General. 

" You got anything to add for General McAuliffe?" Sink asked him.

" General, ah, yes sir." Nixon said as he pulled himself out of the foxhole barely able to keep a foothold as he did so. 

" General, I took a," he stopped speaking to get fully to his feet, " walk on the line at about 0300 last night. Couldn't find the 501st on our right flank. I tied in with a squad from our 2nd platoon but, sir, we've got some considerable gaps in our perimeter."

" Even at 0700 none of the gaps were closed when I took a walk, sir," Catherine said stepping forward as everyone looked to the girl, " the geography of the land doesn't call for that, we need more men." 

" I don't have enough people, sir." Strayer said, " We're spread too damn thin."

" Hold the line, Colonel, close the gaps." McAuliffe said firmly, he turned and moved back towards the truck, " This goddamn fog won't lift any time soon, so you can forget about air cover."

" Positive." muttered Catherine, as Gene looked at her.

" You're 1st Battalion just pulled out of Foy, Krauts on their tail. Tanks, artillery, got no back-up. There's a lot of shit heading this way." and with that McAuliffe sat down and the truck took off back towards Regiment. Catherine felt her heart drop as her and Gene walked back over towards the 2 Captains and Colonel. Gene and Catherine slowly followed back towards Winters, as Catherine stepped past Gene to her map which lay discarded on the ground. 

" Doc..." Winters said as Gene looked at the two.

" Can I scrounge a bandage from your aid kit, sir?" Gene asked him gently. Winters looked up at him.

" How are you fixed?" Winters asked him. Gene shrugged helplessly, rubbing his hands together.

" No plasma, couple of bandages, practically no morphine." Gene said as Winters handed him a bandage quickly. 

" In fact, I tried to find my way up to 3rd Battalion looking for supplies, but lost my way." Gene said glancing towards Catherine who watched him. Lizzie had already taken all she could from Catherine. She gave a sad frown his way.

" If you can't get over to 3rd, hook up with Doc Ryan, he'll fix you up with what he has to spare." Winters said, and Gene nodded. 

" Thanks, Cap'n." Gene said and Winters nodded before Gene turned and started heading away.

" Eugene..." Winters said stopping Gene in his tracks.

" Get everything you can." Winters told him, " You're gonna need it." He would. Gene nodded before turning and taking off through the forest. Winters looked towards Catherine who sat quietly, going through her maps, eyes focused on the paths and geography of the land. She was quiet. 

But everyone was worried for the medics, there was no lie under or over it. They were some of the most important soldiers in this company. 

Lizzie was moving through where new foxholes were being dug, they had to shift their line again, and as people dug in, she checked in on their health and for any general supplies. She was nearing where Spina had last been digging when she heard Dike call out.

" 1st Sergeant Lipton," she had heard his voice call and immediately redirected her route in another direction to avoid him. 

Mourmelon-le-Grande had seemed to be the hotspot for asking Lizzie Elliot every question under the sun based on medical history courtesy of Norman Dike. And she had answered every one and he was still confused as ever. It was no wonder that there wasn't a bigger rumor of women at war with the current CO wandering around, with a stick up his ass. 

Lizzie found Bill easily, walking around, making sure people were digging in, talking with each guy he passed, leaving them with a smile.

" Bill." Lizzie called as she approached him.

" Hey, there, Doc," Bill said turning to her, and stopping to let her arrive at his side.

" You got a spare bandage?" she asked him hurriedly. 

" Maybe 1." he said digging into his pockets and pulling one out. She gratefully took it and sighed in relief.

" You're a lifesaver, Bill." Lizzie said and Bill smiled at her gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

" I try when I can, Lizzie," Bill said and Lizzie grinned before waving and heading off towards Alley and Liebgott's foxhole. 

" Hey boys," she said as she kneeled softly beside the foxhole.

" Hey, Doc!" the two cheered as they met her eyes.

" You got anything? Morphine? Bandages, aid kit? Scissors?" she asked them softly.

" Doc still missing them?" Liebgott asked her as he pulled out his med kit and handed it to her. Lizzie nodded.

" We can't find them anywhere." she said with a small smile, " But we'll get a pair, we'll keep looking." 

" Heard a rumor that's Perconte's got a drug store in his bag, I bet you could find a pair in there," Alley said as Lizzie gratefully took a thing of morphine from him.

" Really?" she asked. 

" Yeah, heard it the other day," Alley confirmed," I'd let Gene know."

" Thanks you two, stay warm," she called as she popped up and took off again to George and Christenson's foxhole.

" Lizzie!" George called noticing her there. She smiled as the grin on Pat's face widened.

" Just the person we were hoping to see, George here got a bunch of stuff at the run he took into town today with Catherine." Pat sat as him and George reached into their pockets.

" I swear you guys are angels from heaven." Lizzie said as George handed her a load of bandages.

" I wouldn't go that far, Lizzie, especially with this one." Pat said as George snickered.

" What are you saying, there Pat? I am an angel, Momma said so herself." George said as Lizzie snickered.

" Right," Pat said. 

" I gotta work my way around, but stay warm for me." she said gently to them.

" Will do, Doc." George said and she smiled at him, squeezing his shoulder gently before popping up and hurrying away again. 

The second she ran away though, an explosion ripped through the entirety of where the foxholes lay. Lizzie felt herself knocked over by force onto her stomach, her face shoved in the snow, as she inhaled the icy Earth. Second of the day, who would've known. LIzzie flipped on her back, choking on snow and air and debris, hacking and hacking, her already sore throat, feeling practically raw now. That's when the frantic calls for medics filled her eyes, like a ball banging around in her brain. She shoved herself to her feet up from the snow, slipping a bit as she struggled to maintain her footing, racing through the snow towards the sound of the call for a medic. 

Another explosion sent her flying to the ground from the massive impact it had on the ground. She slammed to the icy ground, a static shooting up through her body, as she got to her feet again, more explosions continually ringing out. She let out a groan as she lay curled up for a split second before finally getting a move on.

" Medic!" a call suddenly rang out and Lizzie stopped in her tracks, eyes searching for the source of where the voice came from as she did so. Another explosion went off behind her, and she shook at the sound, flinching and almost crouching to the ground as she heard it, her ears ringing.

" Medic!" the urgent call came again and she twirled on her toes, listening for the source. She could hear trees falling, lumbar hitting the ground, as distant rumbles erupted like thunder and lightning together it seemed.

" Medic!" the call came again, as an explosion ripped through Lizzie's side and snow kicked up in her face. She fell from the impact to her back, pushing herself quickly to her feet again, as she raced towards the sound. The world seemed to shake, and everything seemed to be coming down on them. Her heart was racing as the call got closer and louder.

" Doc!" the voice yelled, and her heart stopped when she recognized it was Bull's. Lizzie pushed through the explosions, clasping herself next to a tree, as the world trembled with another shelling.

" God, make it stop." she whispered, as her arms wrapped tightly around it. Another explosion hit right behind her and she gritted her teeth before running forward. 

" Medic!" the call was frightening to hear, but she knew she had to race towards it, her heart pounding with each step. Soldiers rushed past her in a frenzy, as she watched them, heading out towards the frontlines, the very front. She heard another whistle, as the call for a medic rang out, and she collapsed to the ground, holding her hands to her head, squeezing her eyes shut, as the explosion hit a tree close to her. She heard the crack as it tore off from the bark and crashed to the ground. She then struggled, pushing to her feet again as she finally came in sight of where the medic calls were coming from.

" Medic!" the cry was painful and guttural, and Lizzie tripped and went flying to the ground an explosion to the left of her. She curled in a ball, in the open as the whistle exploded next to her again. 

" Doc!" Lizzie heard as she crawled to her feet basically, racing forward, her lungs filled with the cold air that she was met with. She could see Gene right in front of her, going to the same foxhole. 

Then another call hit her ears, and her heart dropped. She turned racing away from where Gene was with Bull and who she figured was Penkala, towards the sound of another faint medic cry. She moved her way through the trees and explosions, jumping and rolling through the icy snow, her ears and eyes peeled for the source. She felt like a wild creature, moving through all the trees and forest and explosives. The world continued to shake with each oncoming explosion, and then there was the final one. 

Lizzie had fallen against the tree, closing her eyes and praying for the shellings to stop. And they did. Lizzie slowly looked up, as the faint cry for a medic continued. The world was silent, dust, debris and snow falling silently from the trees as they sat there, quietly. Then the yells began for the 'all clear', Lizzie shot up like a bullet towards the quiet cry for a medic. She found it belonged to a quiet replacement, sitting in his foxhole, next to his friend who looked terrified for his life.

" Doc," the one managed out, shaking like a leaf as he looked at her with wide terrified eyes. He couldn't speak as tears slowly fell from his eyes and pointed to his injured friend. He was bleeding in his leg, the shrapnel having seemingly pulled out by them. 

" Hey, it's ok, it's over, I'm right here." she said as she moved into the foxhole and took hold of his leg, gently placing it in her lap.

" Will he die?" the other replacement asked, finding his words.

" No, he'll by just fine, just a scratch." Lizzie said with a small smile.

" Just a scratch?" the injured replacement whispered and Lizzie nodded, as she gently put some sulfa on the wound, the only wound that had hit his body, and a minor one at that. She then tightly and warmly wrapped up the wound with a thick bandage, and then fastened it to make sure it was flush. 

" It'll heal up well, just try to keep the wound clean." Lizzie said to him, gently squeezing his shoulder with a soft smile.

" Will he be ok?" the other replacement asked as Lizzie stood. Lizzie looked toward the injured replacement as he slowly shifted to sitting position, eyes filled with tears.

" Just, you know, be his brother, comfort him, make sure he's ok. Be there for him," Lizzie said and the replacement nodded, before turning and sitting next to his injured buddy, talking quietly. Lizzie stood up, getting out of the foxhole and let out a breath of air she didn't realize she was holding. She was surprised she didn't break down crying, maybe though it was the adrenaline that had pushed the fear and sickness that pulsed through her body. 

Lizzie slowly made her way back towards the foxhole she shared with Gene, shaking from the cold, her head pounding and throat sore. Her legs felt weak as she worked her way towards the foxhole. And when she arrived, she saw Gene sitting inside, helmet off, out of breath. She slowly slid in next to him, and he looked toward her.

" Who got hit?" she asked.

" Penkala." he said softly, sucking in a breath of air.

" There was replacement too, but it was minor." she said and Gene nodded.

" You okay?" he asked her, placing a soft hand on her shoulder and she nodded.

" Yeah, I'm fine." she said, " Fine."

" Should have shot Hinkle in the ass," Malarkey said.

" And he would have shot him in the ass!" Skip replied as the two cackled over what they had heard about what Babe and Spina went through on a trip to find 3rd Battalion. Catherine stood nearby, watching arms crossed, nibbling on her bottom lip, as Gene was sitting alone on a crate, watching a little bit, but not really focusing on the conversation. Catherine had been surprised when Lizzie wasn't with him. But Hazel was currently searching for the tiny medic, by order of Catherine, personally. Joe Domingus went around with food, as he handed out the food.

" Hey, God bless ya." Babe had said.

" Yo, these smell like my armpit." Malarkey complained as he got a whiff. 

" At least your armpit's warm." Skip said back.

" Do you want syrup with that?" Joe asked him.

" Hey, Joe, be honest, what's in these things anyway, huh?" Malarkey asked Joe.

" Nothing you won't eat, Malarkey." Joe said before turning away. 

" I won't eat Malarkey," Skip said.

" Hey, hey, maybe hinkle would like your share, huh?" Julian said leaning forward.

" I should have shot him when I had the chance." Babe said.

" What, running backwards, Babe?" Skip said as Catherine noticed Peacock come into her vision, his bright red nose visible.

" Anybody seen Lieutenant Dike?" he had asked.

" Try Battalion CP, sir." Malarkey said. Peacock let out a sigh as he turned and Catherine moved over to him quickly.

" Try Paris." Skip muttered.

" Hinkle, sweetie, I'm home." Penkala said as the group was sent into hysterics as he went to hug Babe.

" Hey, Eugene, Lieutenant Dike's got a full aid kit, try him." Babe said.

" Yeah, I'm sure he's not using his." Malarkey said finishing out a laugh.

" Maybe Hinkle's got a syrette for you." Julian said.

" Eat your strudel." Penkala scolded him as Gene smirked, a cigarette on his lip. 

" Hey, hinkle-vinkle, eats ze armpit, huh?" Penkala said as the group chuckled again.

" Tom," Catherine said as she stopped him and he looked towards her.

" Is Dike, still, missing?" she asked him, her eyes filled with confusion. The man moved around so much he was never really in one place.

" Went to his foxhole, he wasn't there, I went and found Lipton, but he had no clue either. Talbert, Grant, Guarnere, Toye, no one knows where he is." Peacock said. Catherine sighed.

" Shit." she said.

" I'll head up to Battalion CP, see if they've seen him." Peacock said and Catherine nodded, before slowly walking back over to the group that had been eating, watching as Gene sat smoking a cigarette. She let out a shaky sigh and then walked over and slowly sat by his side, except her ass was in the snow, as she sat criss cross applesauce. 

Gene looked down at the girl, the Lieutenant with the high IQ, sitting next to him in the snow, a bland expression upon her usually quite alive face. So he, slowly pulled the cigarette from his lips, and handed it to her. She looked up at him, a small smile on her face, as she took it and carefully placed it between her lips, taking in a wonderful drag. She usually never would smoke, but desperate times called for desperate measures and here she was.

" Thanks," she said as she passed it back to him, and watched as he nodded, before putting it to his own lips. 

" Are you doing ok? With everything?" she asked him, his gaze, seemingly filled with worry. Gene looked down toward her. Catherine, even though Gene and her didn't talk much, she knew him. Dragging someone across Normandy was quite the experience. He was worried for Lizzie, his eyes weren't exactly great at concealing that.

" Best we can, but we're low on supplies, no morphine, no bandages, no plasma, barely any sulfa, things are low and Lizzie's getting sick." he said, and Catherine felt like there was an arrow in her heat.

" Shit, Gene, I'm sorry, I wish I could do something," she said looking at him. Gene let his shoulders gently fall, through a slight shrug.

" You're doing all you can, Catherine, we all are," Gene said with a smile. Catherine nodded with a smile. She bit her lip as Gene let out another blow of smoke. She had seen Gene through many things, but remembered his actions most vividly when he dragged her into the small town they were in near Coup-de-ville, exhausted and warn, but fighting to make sure she made it. 

" I'll see you around, Gene." she said as she slowly managed to get to her feet.

" Yeah," Gene said, " you find any spare medical supplies, just let us know." Catherine slowly crouched down in front of Gene with a nod.

" Of course," she said with a tiny smile, " definitely. See you around, Gene." Catherine then stood and then headed back towards Battalion CP.

" Did Dike show up?" she asked them, once her foot entered the tent area. 

" Nah, Peacock was here just a few minutes looking for him, " Nixon said.

" We've been looking for Dike already," Winters said, and Catherine sighed. 

" Where'd Peacock go?" Catherine asked.

" Probably looking for Dike again," Winters said to her, and she nodded, her shoulders sagging. They were always looking for Dike.

Catherine was tired of it. 


	72. god's will

" The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you." 

_\- Billy Graham_

✰✰✰

Later that night, a flare, a bright orb was shot into the sky and the night battle ensued. 

Initially, it had woken Hazel from her dead sleep, shooting up from her foxhole, and sitting in a pile of freezing snow so she could possibly snipe out any oncoming Germans, farther back from the front line. Everyone was up most of the night, warding off the cold and the oncoming bullets, but finally the short spit fire fight ended and the group managed to get a few hours of rest. Her and Shifty were weary, side by side, weapons brought up to their eyes as they sat there, awaiting whatever else were to fly their way. 

But something was different about sitting here now. It was the early hours of the morning, but you could tell dawn was on its way. Hazel could tell something was off, by just how quickly the barrage had started and ended. 

And that Hazel's kill tally was racking up closer to 80 now. 

80 harsh slashes that riddled her body in her sleep. 

She never openly talked about her kill tally, with anyone, not even the women or Joe. She just, it was something that was stuck in the pit of her chest like acid, bubbling whenever her hands touched her Springfield. Shifty was beside her. 

Hazel knew Shifty had a fairly high kill tally as well; but like her, he never talked about it and it was something mutual between the two. They both knew they had killed people in this battle and for the reasons they needed to do so. 

But it was a bitter taste in her mouth, like poison. 

There were a lot more bitter pills to swallow out here compared to that of the Normandy campaign which had been like waking up out of a dead sleep and running 5 miles in the freezing rain with Thermes yelling at you. This was just a weird feeling, unsettling at that. Hazel glanced over at Shifty, as the backdrop to the Ardennes forest turned from black to a dark blue, fading ever so slightly to different shades of lighter blue.

" Hey, Shifty?" Hazel said softly. The man looked towards her from under the rim of his helmet a gentle smile on his face.

" Can I tell you something?" she asked him. 

Shifty Powers was a man Hazel trusted, not just because he was an Easy Company member, but because he was like the brother she never had. And Hazel knew she could tell him anything.

" Back when we were first dropped into Normandy, I started keeping a tally of my shots," she said softly, her eyes following the gaze of Lip moving around in the early morning, checking on other foxholes. Shifty softly glanced at her.

" You're the only other person I've found who has done that," Shifty said softly meeting her blue eyes. 

" Really?" she asked. Shifty nodded.

" Most guys, keep a tally each battle, I write it down on a tiny sheet of paper in my front pocket, I hate looking at the number, but it's a way to cope." Shifty said and Hazel felt a small smile on her cheeks. 

" That's exactly what it is." she said, and Shifty felt a bit of comfort seep into his blood stream.

" It's the only way to remind myself of the war and everything, about why we're doing this, why it needs to be done. Why we fight." she whispered softly. 

" It's the only way to remind myself, of it all," Shifty said with a small sigh, as she leaned back from his weapon and pulled out the tiny slip of paper in his hands, where his loopy handwriting was, " 30." Hazel's eyes grew sad at the way Shifty spoke those words. Hazel met his gaze.

" I hate that the number just sits there in my chest, ya know?" he said, " I just sorta deal with it though." 

" I hate it too," Hazel whispered as she pulled out her own tally sheet and showed Shifty, " 78." Shifty meet her gaze and watched as she sadly looked down and put it away.

" I hate that I even have a stupid tally." she muttered.

" Hey," Shifty said placing a hand on her shoulder as she sighed meeting his gaze, " if it helps you cope, keep it okay." Hazel nodded, biting back her lip.

" I've told the stars about it," she said," all about it." Shifty met her soft gaze.

" They know everything, more than anyone I know, and they're not even here on Earth." she whispered, " And yet I still respect them, but I can't respect the enemy." Shifty watched her gaze flit up to his. 

" God says we need to love our enemies." Hazel whispered softly to him as his eyes watched hers, " That's hard to do, Shifty." The two sharpshooters watched each other.

" I can't love someone who has done wrong in this world when we were put here to make it bright." Hazel said, and for the first time in this war Shifty, felt a bit of tears well in his vision watching Hazel speak, " I can't love an enemy like that, and I kick myself everyday for it because I can't follow the path God wanted me to. To love that godforsaken enemy." Shifty watched Hazel let out a trembling breath. Hazel watched Shifty's eyes, the gloss that lay over them shimmering.

" For the first time in my life, I can't do what God expected me to do and I feel terrible." she whispered. 

" It's because you're staying you Hazel," Shifty said, his voice shaking," it's because you know not to listen to what others tell you, even your God. It's because you're you." Hazel met his eyes, and sucked back her tears and the emotions that had been strangling her this entire war.

" Thanks, Shifty." she said softly, sniffling as Shifty reached up to wipe his cheek where a stray tear was. Hazel had never seen a man cry before. Hazel shuffled forward and gently wrapped her arms around Shifty, holding him close in the early hours of the day, in a warm hug. 

Two sharpshooters, under the stars, in the quiet. 

Once morning dawned, Easy Company wasn't saved from anything, as another barrage of explosions and a shelling rang through the trues. Lizzie and Gene had shot up out of the foxhole after nearly being frozen side by side and had gone off, sprinting basically through the trees.

" Medic!" the call had come, traveling through the tops of trees, and through the sounds of explosions as Lizzie's heart sunk as she realized it was Perconte's voice yelling for one. 

" Medic!" the call came again, as Lizzie followed hurriedly after Gene her heart racing rapidly in her chest. She caught a gust of wind and she struggled, following after Gene, coughing the entire time. Right as an explosion shot off, Gene slipped into the foxhole and Lizzie followed, the foxhole big enough for 4 or 5 people, and Lizzie's eyes widened in horror.

" Oh, Christ," Skinny whimpered out, as she got a look at his leg and his blood covered hands. Lizzie immediately looked to Skinny, his face filled with pain as his hands touched at the shrapnel in his leg. 

" Perconte, you getting a jeep?" Gene asked Perconte.

" I'm on it, Doc," Perconte said as he pulled out his radio and began calling up CP. Gene pulled out his back as Lizzie gently put Skinny's leg in her lap, Skinny crying out in pain. She held his leg gently, as Gene began cutting through the lose strands of fabric that still covered the wound.

" Look what they did to my leg!" Skinny cried out.

" Easy CP, Easy CP, this is Perconte, Sisk has been shit and I need a jeep," Lizzie heard Perconte say as she looked up and watched him frantically speaking into the phone for the radio.

" Stay with me," Gene said as Skinny cried out continually in pain. Gene had to rip open the pain leg for access and Lizzie watched as all the shrapnel that had gotten into his leg was revealed.

" Skinny, you'll be ok," she said quietly looking at Skinny, who was trying his best to be as brave as he could. Lizzie had to block out Perconte's frantic yelling into his radio to focus on Skinny's leg. Gene began picking each piece of shrapnel out of Skinny's leg, and Lizzie adjusted the leg better for Gene as she began to inspect the wounds. They needed sulfa to block up the blood from coming out. 

Explosions still rang out in the background, and each time Gene pulled something from Skinny's leg, Skinny let out a weak cry of pain. Gene whipped out a sulfa packet and ripped off the top with his teeth before quickly poured it on the bloody wounds as blood from Skinny's leg slowly began to reach Lizzie's ODs which were pressed against Skinny's wounded leg.

" Okay, Sisk, it ain't that bad, ain't that bad," Gene said softly to the man.

" Ain't that bad?" Skinny asked a little breathless as Lizzie looked at him with a hopeful glance that calmed his racing heart. Another explosion ripped across the company as Gene pulled a bandage from his pocket. She watched Gene look out, his eyes alert as Lizzie continued to hear Skinny's screams. Gene bit his lip before looking back and wrapping up Skinny's leg. Lizzie helped, carefully move the leg around, as Gene wrapped the leg in the bandage securely. Then he tied it off and that was the most painful for Skinny it seemed. Then Lizzie watched as Gene whipped out the morphine.

" No, Doc, save the morphine, I can make it. I can make it, save it, okay?" Skinny said immediately stopping Gene from using it and Gene nodded pushing it away as Lizzie took a glance down at herself, the entire front of her body covered in blood.

" Okay, alright, let's get him out here," Gene said, as Lizzie quickly moved herself up and out of the foxhole, glancing around, ears listening for sounds of medic, but none came. Lizzie helped Gene out before they both grabbed ahold of Skinny's ODs and Perconte helped push Skinny out of the foxhole, as he let out a painful groan. Another explosion went off in the distance, lighting up the background and the trees in the grey morning. 

" I'm running ahead to the jeep," Lizzie said, as both Perconte and Gene worked Skinny up to a sitting position to run him through. Then Lizzie took off as explosions rattled around her, forcing herself closer to where the road to CP and Bastogne would eventually go. As she heard sounds of the jeep, she heard a painful cry behnd her.

" _Aaah_ , Jesus Christ!" she heard Skinny yell, as she turned and saw the trio collapsed together on the ground. 

" Oh, Skinny, you've got blood all over my trousers." Perconte complained, as Gene rolled over to pull Skinny up. Lizzie raced up, to help Gene.

" I'm real sorry, Frank," Skinny shot back, as Lizzie helped Gene get Skinny up, as Perconte stood as well.

" Get him up!" Gene called to the two.

" Come on, Skinny, it's ok," she said, her voice soothing Skinny for the moment, as they got him up again. The jeep squealed against the snow as it found them in the chaos and stopped, engine rumbling.

" Damnit, Skinny," Perconte cursed as the trio managed to race Skinny over to the truck. The truck driver jumped out in an attempt to help them.

" Tell Spine I went in for plasma," Gene called to Perconte. Then the 4, including the driver pushed Skinny up onto the stretcher at the front of the jeep, Skinny crying out in utter pain. 

" I'm coming with you," Lizzie said as she turned to Gene who looked at her.

" You're sick, you're staying here," he told her as he hopped up into the driver's side. 

Lizzie narrowed her eyes. 

She was merely starting and it hadn't progressed much yet.

" I'm going with you," Lizzie said, ignoring his initial order, and climbing up behind him, much to his protest. They left Perconte in the dust behind them, as they blasted away towards Bastogne. Gene turned to Lizzie, as she looked at him with sorrowful eyes.

" Gene, I'm sorry, I had to," she whispered softly, watching his eyes look at hers. 

" Please, just promise me, you'll try and rest when we get back?" he asked her and Lizzie nodded. Gene then turned around to face front again and Lizzie carefully placed a hand on his shoulder to rub it gently. 

She didn't know it yet but it calmed his nerves as they approached Bastogne. 

The entire drive in, Lizzie watched Skinny worriedly, his facial features contorting with each bump in the road or swerve the jeep had to make. But once they entered Bastogne, her eyes widened. The city seemed to be in ruins, soldiers and people milling about amongst the rubble, snow and slush lining the streets and sides of buildings, it looked like a mess.

" All the tanks, artillery, are pulled back to here. We've got no back-up beyond Bastogne, this is it. The Krauts captured the 326th medical and they took everybody. Doctors, medics, the whole shebang. We got nothin'. They're giving the boys hooch for the pain." the driver said to them as they drove through, and Lizzie's heart sunk at the sight of it all. When they pulled up, two stretcher bearers came out of the church that seemed deemed as the aid station. Lizzie quickly got out of the jeep with Gene, and watched as Gene and the driver moved Skinny to the stretcher. She worriedly bit her lip as he cried out in utter pain. 

" He took a mortar hit, watch the leg." Gene said as Skinny was comfortably situated onto the stretcher.

" Yeah, watch the leg." Skinny said as the two stretchers turned and began moving Skinny in. 

" Get him in." Gene said. Lizzie was quiet as she came up on Gene's side and both medics looked towards the piles of dead bodies that lined the streets. Lizzie sucked in a nervous breath, as she looked at the sight, before glancing back at Gene, who gently put a hand on her shoulder. She nodded and followed by Gene's side into the aid station.

As they entered the aid station, the smell of blood, and snow hit her nose immediately as men in the opening, to what was the church, lined the sides, clearing a path for the wounded that entered and left.

" Coming through!" Gene called as Lizzie met the eyes of wounded men, men who had already seen a good part of the war. Lizzie gave a small, warm smile before following Gene down the stairwell. They moved down into the base of the church and Gene slowed. Lizzie slowly came up behind him and her eyes widened. The base of the church was filled with injured men. Stretchers and medics and nurses littered the inside. Someone rushed up past Lizzie and Gene and Lizzie moved to the side quickly, her heart racing, as she watched the medic disappear. He was going back to the line. And his face had seemed so sad. 

" Oh, no, no, no, here, put him here." a voice called, and Lizzie and Gene watched as a French nurse came hurrying forward to where Skinny and his stretcher was.

" Yes ma'am." the two responded. Lizzie came up on Gene's side and watched, as if they were in the background, unable to help.

" Is he bad?" the nurse asked Gene.

" No, lower leg wound, no morphine." Gene said and Lizzie nodded. She felt her small hands grip the strap of the medic satchel as her eyes slowly looked out towards the other injured people. She had to turn and look back at Skinny. The nurse inspected his leg and Skinny grimaced in pain at it. Gene stepped past Lizzie.

" Nurse, have you got plasma I can-"

" Wait, please." the nurse said and stopped Gene. Lizzie met Gene's already stressed eyes, and her heart sank. She watched Gene bite back his lip, as he looked at the person in front of him. He had a neck wound, and he was unconscious. Lizzie turned and watched Gene walk in and look at the other room, just on the edge. Lizzie turned back and looked towards Skinny. 

" It hurts, Doc." he said as he sat up and grabbed at his leg. Lizzie held a small, sympathetic smile on her lips as she walked forward to his side.

" I know," she said and fumbled her fingers together in front of her, glancing down at the wound on his leg," you'll heal up, though, Skinny, it's not major at all. If anything 1 or 2 months."

" Hey, what's going on here, why aren't these men evacuated?" she heard a voice say and both Skinny and Lizzie looked and saw Gene walking towards a medic working over and injured man.

" We can't evacuate, we're cut off." the medic told Gene exhaustedly, " This is as far as it goes." She watched Gene's face continue to scrunch up in confusion as he went and looked at the other half of the church of even more wounded men. Lizzie looked over when she saw the nurse coming towards her with alcohol, exactly like the jeep driver said. Gene walked back over and Lizzie met his eyes. His eyes had never looked more stressed filled. Lizzie watched him for a moment before looking back at Skinny. 

The nurse next to her poured Skinny a shot of alcohol and handed it to him. She started speaking in French with the other nurse that came up to Skinny and began looking at his leg wound. Lizzie watched as Skinny slowly sipped the drink. The nurse slowly reached up and put a hand to Skinny's head, as he looked to her, as if he'd seen an angel.

" I'm in heaven, Doc." Skinny said to both Gene and Lizzie, in a daze. Lizzie smiled. 

" Nurse?" Gene said firmly.

" This way," the nurse answered and Lizzie watched as both Gene and the nurse walked away and out of sight, Gene giving her a run down of the low supplies they didn't have. Lizzie looked back at Skinny who was still sipping the alcohol, as the other nurse examined the leg wound he had. 

" I have to go see if I can get supplies, to keep the men and women back on the line warm. It seems they have things outside," Lizzie said to the man. He looked at her with a pained smile.

" Of course," he said, " take care of them." Lizzie nodded with a smile. She leaned forward and hugged Skinny around his neck tightly, before pulling back.

" I'll see you soon," she said with a small smile. He nodded. Lizzie slowly backed away gripping her medic satchel and then slowly went up the stairs. She went up to the area where a bunch of other wounded men, who weren't in as serious of a situation stood and she gave a tiny smile before walking outside into the snowy wasteland again. She glanced around and then saw a pile of coats that she had seen previously as they were walking in. She quickly walked over and crouched down next to it and began searching through the fabric, her eyes finding piece after piece of clothing in the pile, her eyes warming at the sight of finding some sort of warmth. She piled up as many coats as she could in her arms, and looked at another coat.

" Lizzie!" she heard a voice call. She turned and saw it was Gene, coming out of the aid station with a box of supplies. She quickly stood and hurried over to him with a bunch of coats.

" Find some stuff?" he asked her and she nodded. Then he caught sight of the driver that had brought them in.

" Can you get us back to the line?" Gene called to him.

" Sure." he said and took the box from Gene. Gene then turned and grabbed a pair of boots. For Joe Toye. She remembered Gene mentioning something about that to her. Lizzie followed the jeep driver to the jeep and got herself situated in the back, looking at the large amount of coats that sat by her side and began looking through them. 

" Eugene!" Lizzie heard a voice yell and it sounded like the nurse. Lizzie slowly shifted around to watch Gene stop and look towards the French nurse. A small smile fell on her lips. The nurse threw something his way.

" Chocolat. Pour vous." she said, and Gene nodded with a rare smile. Lizzie felt her heart warm at seeing Gene smile. She hadn't seen Gene smile in so long and it was beginning to worry her. Gene jumped back up into the truck and glanced at Lizzie who was already smiling at her medic friend. He smiled back. She gently reached forward and placed her hand on his shoulder and gently rubbed it. 

" Patrol?" Hazel asked Catherine as the two walked side by side toward the group that was gathered at Father Maloney's truck for prayer.

" Yeah, Battalion wanted it," Catherine said letting out a shiver, " For what? God only knows."

" What good am I going to do on a patrol?" Hazel asked her, shaking her head with s sigh.

" Oh you know, just throwing a sniper on the lost of eligible patrol members so they can see a smile on Sink's face," Catherine said a bit sarcastically, with a shrug. Hazel snickered as Catherine smirked. The two arrived at the sight and got down and entered the prayer with the rest of the men who were on patrol. Hazel softly shut her eyes, as she stayed on her knees. God willing she hoped they'd be protected. When the amen rang out, so did the entrance of a jeep. 

" Fight well for your god and your country." Father Maloney told them, and Hazel looked at him with a nod, " God bless you all, and stay safe." Hazel stood and turned and saw Lizzie and Gene coming forward with supplies in their hands. Returning from the aid station. 

Gene was talking softly to Lizzie, and Hazel gratefully watched a smile appear on Lizzie's face. 

Leave it to Gene to take care of Lizzie and force her to be taken care of by someone other than herself. 

Thank God for Eugene Roe.

" That's it, guys, nothing more to worry about. We're gonna die now, we're gonna die in a state of grace." Skip said and Catherine looked at him with a smile.

" I hear ya Skip," she said putting a helmet on her head. Skip grinned proudly at the Lieutenant.

" Isn't that right, Babe?" Skip called to Babe at Catherine's side. Hazel slowly adjusted her helmet to her head and glanced over and watched the 3 medics look at her each other and begin talking to each other. Gene had boots and a box of supplies, and Lizzie had a bunch of coats. Gene gently talked to Lizzie and she nodded with a smile before walking away with Spina by her side. Then she watched Gene began walking towards her. The two began a quick pace side by side.

" Are you coming on patrol instead?" she asked quietly.

" I'm gonna try, save Spina and Lizzie from doing so," he said quietly and Hazel quirked a smile his way. Catherine was nearby to where Peacock and Johnny were talking about the patrol in general. Even though Peacock was leading, Johnny would technically be 2nd in Command and Catherine was there for a 3rd leadership spot; she had a map. 

" Tactical columns, ladies and gentlemen!" Johnny turned and called as Catherine watched Gene and Hazel came hurrying up. Catherine turned and followed with Peacock but glanced back as Johnny stopped both Gene and Hazel.

" Doc, Doc, it's a combat patrol." Johnny told Gene holding him back as he met Catherine's gaze back to him. 

" Why don't you stay back and keep your ass out of trouble, huh?" Johnny told him as Hazel watched the two look at each other.

" Yes, sergeant." Gene said and Johnny nodded. Johnny turned to Hazel.

" Tiny, if you want, hang back with Doc, here, close range sniping will get you killed," Johnny said and Hazel nodded, " I don't need you killed either." His smile was genuine as she nodded. 

" Of course," she said to Johnny, and stood by Gene's side with wide, anxious eyes, seeing Johnny and the rest of the patrol disappear. Her and Gene were both silent as they watched the patrol walk further away through the snow. 

Hazel gripped her weapon close by to herself, as she gulped. Gene looked anxious and worried as well, his gaze unsettled as the two finally met each other's eyes. Hazel and Gene moved to sit near a tree; more like Hazel sat herself up on her stomach, with her sniper peaking through the heavy fog that blanketed the forest, and Gene sat idly beside her. She had seen enough of his worried expressions through the years to know that his worry was reaching the top of boiling point. 

Between the way his face was scrunched up, and his mouth was drawn into a thin line and his eyes were dead set on whatever was going on out in front of him, the worry had never been more prominent. 

Hazel was worried as well; back at The Island, whenever she did patrols, no matter if they were reconnaissance, night or day patrols, she always, no matter what went with the group, even if she was a sniper. 

Hazel wasn't sure if Johnny felt something bad was to happy, but she knew he had good reason for keeping her back and behind and not bringing her on the patrol. 


	73. pitiful patrol

" We must understand that sadness is an ocean, and sometimes we drown, while other days we are forced to swim."

_\- R. m. Drake_

✰✰✰

Hazel and Gene could hear distant explosions going off in front of them as a gentle layer of snow slowly began to fall down. 

Catherine crouched low next to Bull, as she watched Julian and Johnny go out ahead of the group, positioned up against a tree. Her breath was shallow, even though they had been moving quickly through the forest. But every breath she let out, she could see the puff of white air that followed. Her face was also bitterly cold, and with each little blast of cold air she felt, she could feel her insides get colder and colder. She watched as Johnny and Julian got the signal to move forward towards another secure barrier, closer to the German front line that met in the forest and not in the open field that stood between the two on the other part of the front line. 

There was a pile of wood, built up alone a split in the road, and Catherine squinted her eyes just enough that she could still see their two figures through the onset of the fog. Johnny seemed to have given Julian the signal to go, but then a German voice rang out, clearly.

" Fire!" he yelled and that's when the bullets started flying. Johnny yelled for him to get down and Catherine watched with horror filled eyes as Julian froze and turned to look at Johnny with such hopeful eyes, and got shot in the neck, making him fall like a sack of potatoes to the ground. 

Catherine waited, she waited for the call from Johnny, as Julian lay there helplessly and Johnny attempted firing back at the Germans with his Thompson. She looked towards the rest of the group that waited and she could see worry lines appearing on Babe's face. Julian was Babe's foxhole partner, everyone knew that. So watching his foxhole partner on the brink of death was unsettling. Catherine bit her lip watching Johnny, as Julian moved around his hands to his neck. Catherine felt her throat tighten. He was in the line of fire.

" Bull! Christenson! Catherine!" Johnny yelled back to the group and the 3 soldiers quickly moved to their feet, " Up on line!" 

Gene and Hazel could both hear the frequent calls, the consistent sound of a German machine gun, and consistent explosions, as they sat there quietly. Gene had pulled out a cigarette, almost nervously, as he had lit it and placed it to his lips every so often, his coping mechanism with the worry that seemed to consume his body. Hazel had resorted to biting her lip over and over until it bled from it's normal chapped state to worry state. They couldn't see through the fog though, but they knew what was going down on the other side. Someone had been hit.

" Johnny!" Bull yelled as the rest of the men and Catherine on patrol, came running up behind the barricade that Johnny was against. 

" We got a man down!" Johnny yelled back. Catherine came hurrying forward and slammed in between Babe and Bull, the chaos of the fight, causing her eyes to not know who to focus on. But then she saw Julian, his arm outstretched, reaching for them as his hand held over his wound.

" What have we go?" Bull yelled to Johnny, as Catherine's eyes remained on Julian, as her heart sunk lower and lower into her chest. 

" Keep still, Julian!" Johnny called to him.

" We've gotta make a move!" Bull yelled over Catherine and Babe. Catherine glanced up at Babe who was looking towards Julian, his eyes unsettled. 

" I can get him, Sarge!" Babe yelled. Catherine could hear George's frantic call to Easy's CP over the gunfire, and she could hear the machine going off. It was rattling around in her brain, going back and forth like a frisbee.

" Suppressing fire!" Johnny yelled. 

" Suppressing fire!" Bull called as Catherine watched Babe crawl out in front of her. Catherine looked towards Julian again, as blood squirted from his mouth, continuing to pool around his neck and head. He wasn't going to make it. 

And suddenly she was thrust back into D-Day, as she lay in the lumber, covered in sweat, blood and tears, praying for a bit of hope. She had survived it, making the makeshift sling, forcing herself to her feet, to move until she met up with Gene. This was different. No one could reach them unless they wanted death. 

And that was a harsh reality to experience.

" Covering fire!" Johnny yelled as he turned and shots from both sides began. Catherine willed herself to stand up and crouch behind the lumbar to start shooting, to do something as Julian laid there in the open range of fire. 

But her eyes remained filled with unshed tears as she stayed holding her gun in front of her, and no bullets coming out the other side. She felt frozen. Her eyes couldn't focus on anything, as her brain turned to mush. She was hearing bullets and shouting, and explosions and voices, but she couldn't focus. 

Catherine felt herself slump down onto the ground again, and turn away from the fight, as her bottom lip trembled. She had put up such a brave face for so incredibly long, and she couldn't believe she was breaking down now, in the middle of this patrol. She look towards Babe, and watched as he jumped back, slow blowing up in front of his face, as he failed at getting to Julian at his first attempt. Catherine felt she could see into Julian's eyes as he rolled around and reached out to them.

" Okay, stay there, don't move!" Babe called to Julian before glancing towards where the whistling bullets were coming from. 

" Stop moving, they'll keep shooting!" Babe yelled again to Julian, who continued to reach toward them, words incoherent. She could tell Babe was overwhelmed and frustrated, so she sucked in her tears, and pushed herself up from the wall of lumber, before doing her duty as the Lieutenant she was.

" Keep up with that suppressing fire on the machine gun Christenson!" she called to him as she slowly moved down the line.

" Keep shooting, Frank!" she called to him, as he shot of round after round. She focused, keeping her attention on the battle and not what was going on with Julian and Babe she couldn't focus on that. She slid in beside George who was on the phone.

" Where the hell is Peacock?" Catherine called to him as he pulled the phone from his ear.

" He went to the CP!" George called back, watching as her eyes darkened. CP? George didn't hesitate to shove the phone into her hand then and there.

" Is Peacock there?" Catherine called through the phone.

" Catherine? Why are you on this line?" she heard Nixon's voice say as it came crackling through.

" Why do you think? Peacock's gone, George said he's gone back to CP is he there?" Catherine called as a bullet whizzed past her back and she scrunched into a tense ball. 

" No, not yet at least, what's going on?" he asked her. Catherine looked back over her shoulder.

" The patrol's gone to hell." she said quickly. 

" Get out of there." Nixon said quickly.

" We can't, we have a man down." Catherine said quickly, as she met George's eyes.

" We can't move." Catherine repeated.

" We have to move out!" Catherine heard Bull call towards Johnny as the gunfire picked up. Catherine shut her eyes for a moment and sucked in a breath, before putting the phone to her ear.

" We can't." she said to Nixon calmly through the phone," We can't leave, not yet." 

" Get it done." Nixon said before the line simmered off, static connection dwindling. The fire fight was a mess behind her but Catherine slowly pulled the phone from her ear with a shaking hand for what she had to do.

And it would take a lifetime to recover from it. 

Hazel could see through her scope, someone running towards them, eyes watching in front of him nervously. Hazel sat back from her scope a bit as Gene shifted. It was Peacock.

" What's happening, sir?" Gene called out to him, standing to his feet, his voice filled with hope and confusion.

" We're pulling back, we made contact." Peacock said, " I gotta get to the CP." Hazel watched from her scope as Peacock trudged by them. She watched as Gene turned to look back towards where the current patrol had gone, utterly confused.

" Keep on them!" Catherine called to a few men on the end of the line for Easy. She could hear Babe's calls to Julian and knew she couldn't do a thing to help. She'd talk to Lizzie once about what would happen if she got shot; what it would feel like. 

Lizzie had said that once it happens, you won't stop moving because you'll want to reach for the wound to cover it, crawl around for cover, move around until you either get taken care of or die. Julian was only reacting in the most natural way any person would. Catherine came running back along the line and slammed in next to Luz who was furiously calling the CP again. She looked to him before she started hearing yelling.

" Pull back, we gotta pull back!" Christenson yelled from his machine gun and Catherine shot up, hand to her helmet.

_What?_

" Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Johnny suddenly began calling as Catherine watched people slowly begin retreating. Catherine looked to Johnny. What were they doing? But then she saw Babe, helplessly calling out to Julian, pleading that he stay alive and look at Babe and stop moving so that they could save him. But he didn't stop wriggling around or looking around or reaching out for them. her heart shattered at what Lizzie or Gene would think of this. 

Catherine felt frozen sitting next to the tree, watching the scene unfold, the yelling and the utter chaos. People ran away from the sight, retreating, but she stayed put frozen against the tree. At the final moment, Johnny began yanking at her shoulder as she met eyes with Julian, lying helplessly on the ground in the middle of Beligum in some forest, fighting a war he was too young to be in. 

Catherine let Johnny yank her back and away from the sight, as she bit her trembling lip and stumbled over her feet, retreating through the forest, her eye sight blinded by tears. But she couldn't get Julian's face from her mind as a few single gunshots rang out behind them. She couldn't save him.

" Move! Come on, let's go!" she could hear Martin yelling.

" Where the hell are we?!" someone yelled.

" Straight ahead, straight ahead!" some yelled. Hazel and Gene stood side by side, and she could practically feel the tension radiating from him as she stood there. Her eyes were now filled with worry and nerves as she looked towards where she could see the patrol scrambling and running back towards them. 

Gunshots exploded from in front of them and a man fell to the ground. Hazel watched as Gene put the cigarette in his mouth and then hurried forward. Hazel could see George next to Gene and the injured man, working on the radio to get CP.

" Where's Hazel?" the voice of Johnny called over the chaos.

" Here!" she called and hurried forward in front of everyone else, past Gene, George and the injured man. She slammed in beside Johnny and a rather distraught Catherine.

" What do you need, Sarge?" she asked.

" Julian, he got gunned down and we think there's a sniper out there." Johnny said before crouching up a bit and shooting back.

" Move back a bit and keep your sniper out, facing that way," Johnny instructed with his hand. Hazel nodded before standing and quickly moving back and setting up her position as more chaos unfolded. 

" Martin!" a voice suddenly yelled and heads turned to see it was Nixon.

" Catherine!" Nixon yelled again as Hazel turned her attention back to the German line, her eyes straining through the scope and fog. 

" Sir!" Martin called back as he adjusted positions.

" What's going on?!" Nixon yelled to him. 

" They got Julian!" Martin yelled.

" He's still alive!" Babe's strained voice called, coming from another tree.

" We don't know that!" Martin called.

" We gotta go get him, sir!" Babe called desperately.

" Did you hit and OP or their line?" Nixon asked. 

" Their line, sir." Martin called back.

" We've gotta go back, sir, get Julian out of there!" Babe called, pleading to go back for his foxhole partner. 

" No, fall back!" Nixon said, and Hazel swiveled to look at him.

" We lost Peacock!" someone called.

" No, he's back at the CP. Come on, Martin, fall back!" Nixon called.

" Let's up and go!" someone yelled and Hazel gritted her teeth, before she pulled her weapon up and then turned and began running back through the snowy and bitter cold forest. 

Hazel sat idly next to Babe, her eyes sunken in and full of sorrow. She had never felt such a weight as she did now, thinking of Julian probably now dead in that open crossfire. She couldn't imagine. 

Catherine was emotionless as she stood against the tree, her eyes unfocused. Babe coughed by Hazel's side, as every so often she gave the man worried eyes but he just shrugged it off. Her heart sunk for Babe. That's when Hazel noticed Winters coming towards the group where Catherine and Johnny stood.

" We couldn't get to him, Captain," Johnny said as Hazel locked eyes with Catherine who was putting up a strong face. Winters looked at Catherine for a few moments as the women kept her eyes on the circle of men, eyes filled with emotion. She whispered something softly to him. 

" Babe tried, Catherine tried, we all tried, couldn't get to him." Johnny said as Catherine sighed to herself. Hazel met Winter's eyes as he looked at the group, as Johnny turned and walked away from them. Winters sat in with them, but kept looking towards Hazel. His eyes were trained on hers for quite some time, as she watched him back. 

Something was turning in his mind, over and over again. 

There was plan somewhere in there. 

When Winters and Catherine got back to CP, Catherine could tell that there was an idea brewing in Winters' mind. He had been quiet, surprisingly, the entire walk back, as he kept his arms crossed across his chest, his eyes narrowed, thinking deeply.

" Something on your mind?" she asked him, as Nixon stepped forward, a map in his hand. 

" No," Winters said, shaking his head, as Catherine raised a brow.

" You sure, Dick? You're looking rather quizzical." Nixon said in a joking manner. Catherine glanced at him as Winters he sat down and then looked out again towards the foxholes. 

" We should try to recover the body," Winters said. 

" That's a death wish," Catherine said as worry filled her system. Winters looked at her.

" Not if we sent Hazel," he said and Catherine glanced at Nixon. Nixon merely smiled. 

If anyone could do anything risky and survive, besides that lunatic Lieutenant Speirs, it was Corporal Hazel Parker. 


	74. solo

" She was never quite ready. But she was brave. And the universe listens to brave."

_\- Rebecca Ray_

✰✰✰

Hazel was sitting on the edge of her foxhole with Shifty, the two talking quietly when the crunching of footsteps coming towards them echoed. Hazel turned and saw Catherine coming towards her.

" Hazel," Catherine said, " Captain Winters wants you." Hazel glanced at Shifty before looking at Catherine.

" Do I need anything?" she asked.

" Bring your weapon and any protective gear you have." Catherine said. Hazel jumped into the foxhole and grabbed her weapon and some extra gear she would wear as a sniper before climbing out and saying good bye to Shifty. Hazel looked up at Catherine confused.

" What's going on?" Hazel asked Catherine, completely confused.

" They want to see if someway you can recover Julian's body," Catherine said softly as they walked through the snow, as night was slowly falling. Hazel's eyes widened. Catherine stepped inside the tiny CP hut and Catherine followed, removing her helmet as she noticed that besides Winters, was Nixon, Welsh, Lip, Peacock, Shames, and Buck.

" Hazel," Winters said as he came over to her.

" Hi, sir," she said and shook his hand.

" You're probably wondering what's going on, right?" Winters asked her and she nodded. 

" I'm not sure if Catherine briefed this to you, but we would like to see if you could recover Private John Julian's body." Nixon told her. Hazel glanced at him and bit her lip.

" This would be one of the first time's we put your position to use out here, but your position will remain most important to us as long as we are out here." Welsh explained to her and she nodded biting her lip. 

" If you can recover the body, you can bring it to cover and report back to us, where in the morning, we can bring the body back." Catherine told Hazel from next to her and Hazel nodded.

" I'll be doing this, alone, sir?" Hazel asked Winters and he nodded. Hazel nodded. 

" I'll do whatever you need me to, sir." she said. 2 years ago, she would've probably still been scared out of her mind to do so, but she would do anything to help the company. She had seen the way Babe and Catherine looked and it had pained her to see them like that.

" Get some food, and then report back here at 2000 hours." Winters told her and she nodded.

" Yes, sir." she said.

" You're dismissed." Winters said and she nodded, saluting, before putting on her helmet and stepping back out into the snow with a weird feeling in her chest. A feeling of pride, which she hadn't felt in such a long time. Lizzie had heard about the patrol from Chuck, who had been called to HQ with some other NCOs, but not all. He came back and had given her a run down at dinner, and she had sighed to herself. 

" You think they'll want another?" Lizzie had asked him softly in the dinner line. Chuck shrugged.

" God knows, they probably will." Chuck said, as Malarkey wandered over.

" Hey, Malark," Lizzie said.

" Hey," Malarkey said, " how are you guys?"

" Just peachy," Chuck answered.

" I'm ok, little sick, little cold, but I'll be fine." Lizzie said. 

" You feeling better?" Malarkey asked her. Lizzie shrugged with sad smile.

" Not really." Lizzie said, " I'll be fine though." 

" I know you will, " Malarkey said, " have you seen Mack?"

" Up at Battalion, they called for her." Chuck told him and Malarkey nodded.

" What about Babe?"

" Probably with Spina, or Bill, he wasn't doing well after it either," Lizzie said and Malarkey nodded. Even his spirit was lower. That's when Lizzie spotted Hazel coming through the fog towards the line, with color in her face, her sniper in her hands, a determined look on her face.

" Hazel." Lizzie said and Hazel looked towards her and walked over.

" You look," Lizzie paused as Hazel stopped in front of her, Chuck and Malarkey," awake?"

" CP's sending me out on a solo patrol," Hazel said quickly.

" That's what you always wanted right?" Malarkey said with a smile to the girl. Hazel nodded with a smile his way.

" That's great, Hazel," Chuck said smiling at the girl's bright eyes.

" What do they have you doing?" Lizzie asked her.

" I have to recover Private Julian's body," Hazel said and all 3 sets of eyes were on her.

" They told me I'd be best for the job," Hazel said, " and Lieutenant Welsh was pretty adamant about it being my first real use of my position. He seemed happy." 

Lizzie smiled. She remembered Hazel back in Athene; that girl probably would've never done what Hazel is doing now. She liked the ambitious person Hazel was becoming or slowly transforming into.

" Hazel!" a voice said and the group of four turned to see it was Joe Liebgott coming towards her. 

" Hey, Joe," she said, as the trio watched. The man arrived at Hazel's side and looked at her.

" What's up? I heard you were at Battalion." Joe said. Hazel smiled looking at the group and then back up at Joe.

" I'm going on a solo patrol." she said, her eyes shining. Joe could see how wide her big blue eyes were. Everyone had heard of the patrol and what had happened, and about Private John Julian, but this was where Hazel's expertise would be put to use. Joe had never been happier seeing her like this.

" Stay safe alright?" Joe said as he looked at her. Hazel glanced up at him.

" Of course," she said, but Joe knew he'd still worry for her. He trusted her with his own life, but he'd always worry for her.

" Best friend privileges." Hazel said with a smile up at him, holding out her pinkie towards him. Joe watched her, a smirk growing on his face, as he latched his thumb in hers. That calmed Joe for the moment. 

When Hazel arrived at the CP at 2000, only Winters, Nixon, Catherine, and Welsh were there. She figured; the other Lieutenants had important things to do and Dike was never around.

" Catherine will take you to your set off point, but then you'll be alone from there on out, until you finish your initial objective." Winters explained and Hazel nodded.

" For ideal coverage, I recommend heading through main areas heavy set on trees and foliage," Nixon said to her, " the German line will spot you if you take certain routes that are closer to the edge. We found marked spots where they bed down around 1900 and don't wake again until 0600. You have all that time allotted to get done what you need to. That doesn't mean there won't be snipers, and OPs, and watches set up on their side, but you'll have a better time than in the middle of the day." Hazel nodded in confirmation. She knew what she had to do and how she had to get it done. 

" Yes, sir." she said.

" Head out," Winters said and nodded to Catherine. The two girls turned and headed out to where, previously, the patrol from today had headed out towards. Catherine beckoned Hazel to crouch by her side and Hazel did.

" Remember, you have prepared for this for over 2 years," Catherine said looking at Hazel and Hazel nodded.

" Trust your gut, you know yourself and what you do. If something feels bad, get the fuck out of there," Catherine said and Hazel nodded. Catherine wrapped an arm over Hazel's shoulder and pulled her into a warm side hug before patting her back.

" Go get 'em." she said. Hazel nodded. Hazel slowly moved crouched towards the tree line before dropping into the snow, into an army crawl. Hazel glanced back, and could faintly see the outline of Catherine's figure through the fog and haze. 

Hazel sucked in an icy breath and then continued on her quiet army crawl through the snow. She couldn't take the more open route that the patrol had gone through; she'd be extremely visible. If she laid low and crawled, it'd be better for coverage. Hazel's eyes darted around like a ball bouncy. 

Every noise she heard in the wasteland, her eyes moved to the source. With her narrowed and trained eye, she could tell if it was a person, an animal, if there were any here, or snow falling. Each sound caused her to slow move her head in the direction the source was. 

Away from the foxholes it was much darker, and eerily quiet. It was so quiet, that Hazel could hear snow falling next to her ears through the trees, lightly onto the powdery ground. 

Hazel's helmet had been covered in a feint white-grey plaster that sharpshooters, like her and Shifty wore. Her face was already white from the cold, except for her nose, and her ODs were fading from their normal olive drab color. The snow was soaking through her ODs as she crawled through the icy snow. Hazel was quiet though, slowly crawling through the world that she was in at the moment. 

Hazel managed to position herself behind a tree, brushing her loose strands from her braids from her face. She peaked around the tree, and then continued forward, crawling through the snow, before coming upon a clearer gathering, that still had trees covering the area. Hazel licked her lips, before slowly moving the sniper up in front of her, slowly clicking her scope up to its correct position. She then leaned against the rather cold sniper pad and squinted her eye, looking through her scope. 

Hazel could see the German line through her scope. She wasn't far from where the position was for where Private Julian had bee shot down. She waited for a little bit, sitting in the falling snow, as she watched the German line. She could see a sniper in her vision, or at least his rifle, but he was sitting back and eating food it seemed. She clicked her scope up a few levels, creating a clearer vision. 

Hazel could see men moving around, talking to each other, laughing, just like Easy Company. She sat back a bit from the scope, and let out a sigh. 

They were just normal people. 

They were fighting a war, not started by them, but their leader. They were just doing the duty that their leader wanted them to do; to fight. Hazel bit her lip, but she sat forward again, looking through her scope again, her eye following the soldiers that walked around on the other side. 

When Hazel felt she was good to move again, she slowly closed the bipod on her sniper up. She moved the sniper back into her arms again and began moving forward when she felt she was good enough to move. She slowly came to what felt like the edge of the mass of trees, where the map had pointed to where Private Julian would be. 

Hazel glanced around and her heart stopped when she saw a body, lying absolutely still, dried blood, frozen in the snow, lying around his figure. Hazel bit her lip and gritted her teeth before moving quickly across the clearing and moving in behind the massive build ups of lumbar that lined the side of the road, where a split lay in the middle leading towards the Germans line and where Julian laid. 

Hazel looked toward Julian's body, as she positioned herself in a position sitting scrunched up against the pile of frozen lumbar, her knees bent upward as she looked toward his still body again. Hazel glanced to her right and saw an opening between the two piles of lumbar, a small one that, but it would do. Hazel slowly crouched over towards the opening, and lied down in the snow under the cover of pine trees. 

Hazel set up her sniper, keeping it focused towards the German line. The brown color and rusted areas of the weapon kept it hidden in the night, even against the slightly grey snow. She set the scopes and then finally settled in. She kept her eye on the German line for a bit, every once in a while glancing towards Julian and behind her. 

Once she felt that there was no attention on the American side, she moved back from where her sniper was set up and moved behind the lumbar pile again. She sucked in a breath as she did so and let out the icy puff before glancing over towards where the gun was set up. Hopefully if the Germans were to look out to the American line, they'd spot the sniper, which was in fairly blatant sight. She sucked in a breath before looking towards where Julian's body was. 

As she slowly crawled on all fours behind the lumber towards the edge, she began to get a closer look at him. 

The blood had dried over his entire body, around his head, his neck, and all over his face. His hand remained outstretched towards where she, and his other hand held that wound that had eventually killed him. 

Hazel felt sick to her stomach just looking at the sight. Her stomach turned as she saw his eyes open, staring at the tree tops above him towards the sky, where a few stars were visible. She wanted to just yank his body behind the lumbar pile, but she knew it was harder than that. 

It had to be. 

Hazel slowly peaked her head around the lumbar corner and narrowed her trained eyes towards the German line. Her eyes caught sight of a few Germans, walking around. 

In her eyes, their weapons glistened, the moon hitting them just right, as their bodies turned away from her, straps visible in the moonlight as well. 

Hazel then looked towards Julian, lying motionless; she hated to say it but he was dead. 

She then slowly lowered herself to the ground, feeling the snow soak through her ODs again. She slowly, cautiously and quietly moved through the snow to Julian's side. Her white helmet stayed level as she crept to Julian's side, and moved herself parallel with his body to make it look like nothing had changed. Hazel didn't realize she was holding her breath in the darkness as she laid there next his dead body. 

Hazel told herself she had to remain this way, she had to stay calm and quiet and in control of herself or else everything would go downhill. Hazel gritted her teeth, and forced a peak towards the German line. She was in the open, and still slightly surprised she wasn't shot at yet. 

Unless a sniper on the other side was watching her every move. 

Lizzie felt sicker than she had been. She walked through the frozen tundra they were in, arms crossed tightly across their chest, her nose running, head aching, throat burning, and face pale white, as she stumbled a bit over her feet as she walked. She let out a nasty cough, that left her throat burning afterwards. Her eyes watered at the pain that had filled her system.

" Hey, Doc?" she heard a voice call and turned to see it was Bill poking his head out of his foxhole with Buck.

" Hey, Bill, what's up?" she said as she walked forward and realized how hoarse her voice sounded.

" You ok?" he asked her, as she approached, arms crossed tightly over her chest. 

" Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?" she asked quietly, crouching by his side, not to wake Buck who was resting.

" I talked to Doc Roe, about when I pee, it hurts. Told me there was nothing he could do." Bill said watching her. Lizzie bit her lip and sniffled, trying to think. 

" I don't know if we have anything, Bill." she said, as she turned and coughed, her lungs seizing a bit.

" You sure you ok?" Bill asked her. She smiled gently.

" I will be," she said, " when we get the first shipment of penicillin in, I'll make sure Gene or I give you a shot."

" Thanks, Doc." he said and she smiled with a nod, before standing to her feet. 

" Get some rest, and stay warm," she said, and Bill nodded.

" Of course," he said and with that she was moving away again. Her teeth chattered together as she moved through the foxholes and found herself walking towards where two people sat on a log. Lizzie bit her lip worriedly as she approached. 

It was Joe Toye. 

Lizzie gently approached him. What caught her eye though was that Joe Toye's boots were off and his foot seemed frost bitten.

" Joe..." she whispered as she approached.

" I'm fine, Doc." he assured her, as Lizzie looked up at him with sad eyes.

" Joe, you have trench foot," she said quietly, as she looked to Joe again.

" Doc Roe just told me that," he said, and pulled his foot away, " I already told him I'm not going off the line." Lizzie watched her, biting her lip. 

" You have to keep it dry," Lizzie said, trying to approach the situation calmly, he could lose it if he didn't try to keep it dry.

" I know." Joe said, as Lizzie looked at him. 

" I'm going to check in on you, tomorrow, ok? Just to make sure it's doing ok." Lizzie said softly. Joe nodded. Then Lizzie sighed, and felt a cough fill her throat, before she turned away and started coughing. She sighed and looked back at him.

" You ok, Lizzie?" Joe asked her, worry creasing his brow. 

" Yeah, fine," Lizzie said as she coughed again, feeling like her throat was clogged with mucus. She turned and coughed again before finally freeing her throat of the mucus.

" Just stay warm," Lizzie said, " and get some rest when you get back to your foxholes."

" Of course, you do the same," Joe told her and she nodded.

" Hey, how's Babe and Catherine?" Joe asked Lizzie.

" Catherine's with Battalion right now, she's seems fine." Lizzie explained, " I checked on Babe and he was with Spina and Gene."

" You got a foxhole for the night?" Joe asked her. She nodded.

" Go rest," Joe told her.

" I'm fine, Joe, I promise." Lizzie said as she wiped her nose on her ODs.

" Get some sleep you need it." Joe told her. Lizzie nodded.

" Stay warm," Lizzie said as she backed away. Then she turned her and crouched running way. 

Hazel glanced back towards the German line, her heart racing as adrenaline filled her veins. She bit her lip and only moved her eyes to look towards Julian. 

Hazel didn't move. 

She didn't want to. 

But she knew she had to, to get him back. 

Hazel mustered up what courage she had, and slowly grabbed his arm. With what strength she had, she moved up to her chest, and then with each pull, she dug her knees into the ground and pushed back, quickly and effectively, before she was behind the pile of lumbar. 

Hazel let out a relief filled breath as she collapsed, sucking in oxygen through her lungs. She was tiny, she couldn't argue that, but if it was to save Julian's body, so that his things could go back to his mother, she would throw herself through life or death to get that done for them. 

Hazel slowly moved back over to her sniper rifle and slid into the spot the snow had hollowed out and let her cheek rest against the pad again. She squinted her eye and began looking through the scope towards the German line. 

No one seemed like they were looking towards the American side at all. Hazel bit her lip and squinted her left eye a bit more as she shifted her sniper's scope a bit, looking towards the German line again, just to get some sort of confirmation that they were not looking her way. 

Hazel then slid back, pulling the sniper rifle away with her, before lying it down in the snow behind the lumbar pile. Hazel knew that wasn't the best for it, but she was more focused on making sure she wasn't ambushed with his body, and that nothing were to happen to them. She slowly crawled over to his head, and found that his dog tags were still intact. 

The Germans hadn't messed with his body. 

That would've been the thing they would've taken. 

Hazel gently took off the dog tag and slid it into her front pocket just as an icy chill hit her side. She shivered, clenching her teeth shut as she attempted to wipe the blood that was around his face and wound away. 

Her eyes looked down at the boy. 

He hadn't been much younger than her, maybe by a year at least. She couldn't imagine the reaction from his family, his father or mother or his siblings. 

Seeing a car drive up and high military officials get out of the car and come to the front steps of his family's southern home, to tell his family that their son who was fighting a stupid war was dead, all because of a patrol that had gone terribly wrong. Something they couldn't control, simply because it was war. 

Hazel gently began searching his pocket, so if she had to drag his body back through the snow a bit, they wouldn't get ruined. She opened his front pocket, and found a few photographs, that were a bit withered and wet from the snow, of what she assumed was his family. 

He looked just like his mother. 

And she was smiling in the photo, with her son next to her, with the same smile. 

Her heart broke. 

Hazel shoved the photos into her pocket with the dog tag. She then went and found his wallet, where his class ring also was. She pulled them out and looked at them with sad eyes. He was the class graduated after her own of '42. He was '43. She had a few acquaintances in the book club back home, that were in the year '43, and she couldn't imagine them in this position. 

Hazel bit her lip and shoved the class ring away and his wallet. She realized his helmet wasn't nearby and she figured that had been the thing the German's had taken, but she still respected that they had enough humanity to not take his dog tags, to let that be something for his family to see. Hazel turned to her weapon, and shouldered it. 

Even though Winters had told her to leave Julian here and report back telling them the body was recovered, she knew she couldn't do that. She knew she couldn't leave his body here even though the body was recovered and hidden. 

The line was spread so thing, the Germans could still wander over. 

Hazel had been taught by Sergeant Coleman how to carry a man, even one who was bigger than her on her back. 

Sure Sobel had gone over it, but he didn't spend a few weeks on the concept like the Sergeant had done with Hazel. 

This time she knew she could haul up Julian's body and hold his weight and get back to the CP. Hazel felt her heart ache for Julian's family and for him, but she had to get him back. She had to get him back to the CP. She knew this was disobeying, but her humanity was stronger than anything. 

Hazel slowly managed to pull his body over her back, as her legs shook from the weight she was carrying. Hazel bit her lip as she had to remain crouched and cross the tiny clearing that seemed to be some sort of road to get to the other side with Julian's body. She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, as she steadied her shaking legs for a moment. She took a chance in that second, hurriedly moving with Julian's body on her back, before slinking into the forest on the other side and collapsing onto the snow covered ground, her knees feeling like they were crumbling beneath her. 

Hazel groaned as she slowly let down Julian into the snow, her shoulders finding a familiar ache she didn't realize was there. She tried to think how long that entire process had taken her, between army crawling out here, waiting behind that barrier, and lying beside Julian, plus setting up her weapon and simply just looking at Julian's body. She glanced at her watch, it was barely 0030 in the morning. 

Hazel felt a wave of exhaustion overwhelm her as the adrenaline ran out from her body. Her body collapsed it seemed as she felt herself fall against a tree, the bark rubbing up on her back as she did so. She glanced over at Julian's body, and gritted her teeth together, forcing herself to get to her feet again to get his body to the CP for his mother. 

Hazel thought of her own mother. 

A mother would want to see her son's belongings and his dog tags. 

She would want them. 

Hazel remembered the skills Sergeant Coleman had taught her, and encouraged her with, and carefully got Julian's body up again on her shoulders, as her legs shook with exhaustion, and wavering strength. 

Hazel needed to get Julian back to that CP, and with each footstep she told herself that, and found strength in each foot step as she did so. She took her rests where they were needed, but kept moving, completely and utterly determined to show up back at the CP with him and his belongings.


	75. always hope

" No matter how difficult life becomes, there is always hope."

_\- Drew Pinsky_

✰✰✰

Catherine sat on a stool in the CP wide awake. 

Peacock had come by the CP after dinner and seen the girl, sitting worriedly, and asked if she wanted to go back to the foxhole, but she'd declined. But everyone else was on edge and awake as well. 

Winters was awake, and sipping bland coffee, Nixon had scrounged up a cigarette and was smoking it to take off the edge that never really overwhelmed him, but did now. Harry was asleep nearby, he was the only one that had managed some rest at the moment, after he had reassured the group multiple times she'd be ok. 

That Hazel would be ok. 

Lip had visited until it was so late that he grew exhausted and cold by the 3rd visit, but he was worried for Hazel. Dike was nowhere to be found, but everyone had figured as much; he was never where he was supposed to be. 

Instead, Liebgott had made a few frequent visits. The first time, him and Catherine talked, and the second time as well. By the third time, he was anxious that she wasn't back yet, but Catherine had told him to get rest and they'd see her in the morning. 

Catherine was still awake at the moment. She was biting her frozen finger, worriedly, her heart racing. 

Hazel may not know it, but she was kinda of the only stable one among the girls at the moment, even if she didn't think it. Lizzie was getting sick, and sicker by the day, and Catherine, herself, was distraught over Julian. Hazel however, whatever had been stuck in her mind, had turned her into one of the warmest people out here, remaining optimistic and positive among the group. Catherine was so thankful for her in that way and for the sisterly love she provided. 

Catherine couldn't lose Hazel to the bullet of a German and neither could the men or the women. No one could. Catherine kept her eyes out towards where she had led Hazel towards when her patrol had first started. She knew Hazel could do this though; she'd trained hours for this, days, over 2 years. 

This was her moment. 

Then she began to see a figure, a tiny figure's outline in the shimmering of the moonlight, and a body on the figure's back. They stumbled a few times, they tripped, but their grip on the person remained strong and determined. Catherine slowly rose from her stool.

" It's Hazel," Catherine whispered. Winters looked up from his mug and Nixon slowly rose. Harry shook himself away. 

" Hazel," Catherine repeated, as Hazel came into view, her nose bright red, black rings under her eyes from exhaustion, her face pale white, her lips blue, her fingers white and shriveled from snow and cold. Catherine turned and raced out of the CP and hurried towards Hazel and the body. 

When Catherine came upon Hazel, the girl's face was calm, even though she was straining to hold the boy's body upon her shoulders. Catherine felt relief fill her system as Hazel had to let the boy fall gently to the ground. Hazel swayed on her feet as she looked at Catherine. The two girls wrapped each other in a tight hug and Catherine had to shut her eyes, from letting out a cry. 

" Hazel," a voice said and the two girls broke apart to see it was Winters and Nixon and Welsh coming towards the two. 

" Sir, I know you said not to bring the body and report back, but I couldn't do that," Hazel said softly, " I couldn't leave him." Winters looked at Hazel in the early hours of the day, maybe 0300 in the morning, exhausted and tried but with the person they had initially wanted, the body they needed.

" I don't care about that, Hazel," Winters said gently to the young girl," all that matters to me is that Private Julian's family with receive his belongings." And Hazel smiled, lighting up her face softly as she did so. 

" Thank you for what you did," Winters told her with a smile and Hazel's face lit up in the darkness. She nodded.

" You can head back to your foxhole, we can take care of this from here," Catherine said. She didn't want Hazel to worry about dealing with the body. She wanted Hazel to get some rest. 

" Ok," Hazel said and smiled to the group before turning and heading away moving towards the foxholes. Her head felt frozen, even with the helmet on her head, and the fact it was night time , with icy blasts hitting the bare spots around her wrists. She crossed her arms over her chest and just prayed that soon she'd be under a blanket and warmed. 

Hazel slowly walked over to where she knew Liebgott and Alley's foxhole was. When she opened the tarp, she expected to see both of them sitting under there asleep. Instead Alley wasn't there, and it was just Liebgott who was awake.

" Hey, Lieb," Hazel said, and Joe looked up at the sound of her voice.

" Hazel!" Joe said, sitting forward, his eyes shining as he watched her crouch by the side of the foxhole. She grinned softly, sniffling a bit, as she looked at Joe's eyes.

" C'mere," Joe said shifting over and patting the spot beside him. Hazel slowly slid inside, crawled in beside Joe and setting her weapon to the side, before looking up at Joe with soft eyes. 

" You don't know how happy I am that you're back," Joe said, watching as a smile spread on her lips.

" Were you worried, Lieb?" she said with a soft giggle watching him. Joe smirked softly at her as she looked away and adjusted her OD coat in the front of herself. Joe's smirk fell and he watched Hazel with the softest gaze. She looked cold. 

" Here," Joe said, gently bringing the blanket on his body over hers a bit, covering her tiny legs and tiny body, as he gently tucked it in around her. He noticed she had looked paler and colder when she entered. Hazel slowly glanced up at Joe with a tired grin, as she adjusted beside him.

" Thanks Joe," she said, cuddling under the blanket and giving off a tiny shiver, a slight chatter of her teeth following. 

" How was it?" Joe asked her, and she glanced up at him. Hazel let out a sigh and shrugged.

" Just seeing his body there," Hazel said shaking her head, " it wasn't what I expected to see. You know, I was just thinking of what his parents are going to think when they get his dog tag." Joe looked at her. 

" He was only a year younger than me," Hazel said, shaking her head.

" I know I'm not the most sentimental type, Hazel, but I know when something's bothering you. You know you can talk to me, I am your best friend. I hate to think you'll keep it on your chest," Joe said as he looked her way. Hazel's heart warmed. Hazel smiled at him, and Joe noticed her dimples show up. They always did when she smiled. She curled her knees up to her chest and let out a sigh. 

" Thank you, Joe," she said quietly looking at him in the silence of the snow falling outside and hitting the top of the tarp. The two looked at each other, as Hazel's eyes seemed to shine in the night. Hazel gently took his hand in hers and began gently curling and uncurling his fingers. Joe watched her, his heart pounding faster and faster by the second and she didn't even know.

" You're still wearing this?" she said with a slight giggle, touching the bracelet she had given Joe, which lay on his wrist. 

" Of course I am," Joe said, as he watched Hazel smile.

" You just have a little piece of me," she said, her fingers like ice on his skin, and Joe watched her smile. Then she looked up at him and her smile grew, like a child in a candy store. 

" What?" she asked, noticing him zoned out.

" Nothing," Joe said shaking his head and looking back down at his hand in her grasp, " just zoned out for a second."

" Tired?" she asked him with a tiny smile and he nodded, before a smirk grew on his face. 

" You know," Joe said, " I remember back in Aldbourne, how quiet you first were." Hazel met his gaze with a slight smirk.

" I was quiet wasn't I," she said, sighing, it felt like such a while ago. 

" Sometimes the quiet ones are the best ones," Joe said and winked at her.

" What? Did you tell that to the girls you courted back home?" Hazel said with a smirk his way. 

" Nah, figured I'd save it for you," he said and Hazel laughed.

" You're lying," Hazel said and Joe looked towards her with a raised brow. 

" How do you know that?" he said cockily.

" Joe Liebgott, I know things," she said and crossed her arms letting out a shiver.

" Oh really?" he said, " Yeah right."

" Oh yes," Hazel said smirking at him. 

" You're a sneaky one, Tiny," Joe said, then leaned down to her ear, " I like sneaky ones." She punched him in the arm, as Joe laughed.

" Shut up." she muttered through a yawn.

" Someone's tired," Joe said and she nodded yawning wide again.

" Get some rest," he told her.

" You sure?" she asked.

" Yeah, go ahead, you need it," he said. She smiled softly. Joe gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder, letting her cuddle into his fairly warm side, and burrow in like a little bird, letting the world fall away for a night, and the wonderful, blissful feeling of sleep encapsulate her. 

Lizzie slowly stumbled towards the medic foxhole, shivering, her mind a boggled mess. She slowly knelt down by the side of the tarp and pulled it up, before noticing the 3 men inside; Spina, Babe and Gene, all curled up together. It was snowing harder. Lizzie slowly slid down into the foxhole and pulled the tarp closed over them again, instantly feeling warmer than she had been. She was careful, hopeful to not brush against Gene, but she did and she thought she woke him up.

" Lizzie?" Gene said softly and Lizzie looked up to meet his gaze. She nodded in the darkness.

" Did you just get in?" he whispered softly. She hesitantly nodded. Gene slowly sat up a bit and placed a hand on her forehead.

" You're freezing." he said softly as Lizzie watched him with sad eyes. 

" C'mere." he said softly, shifting a bit over into Babe. Lizzie nodded and slowly moved the medical satchel from her shoulder and crawled under the blanket into Gene's side. Instantly, Lizzie attached herself to Gene, curling into his side, curling her arms against her body as she snuggled into his body. He was so wonderfully warm.

" I lost track of time, checking on the boys." she whispered softly, her voice trembling as she spoke, shivering madly, craving for any bit of warmth Gene might be able to provide her. 

" Try and rest, cherie," Gene said softly, making sure the blanket was tucked in around her freezing figure. She nodded gently beside him, coughing a few times before shutting her eyes in Gene's blissful warmth. She was asleep within minutes. 

When her eyes fluttered open the following morning, all she could see was a dark space, but there was a bit of light peaking out as well. And there was a rather warm limb holding her close, and plenty of body heat. She shifted, a bit, groaning at her sore muscles, and cracking her eyes open more, looking around more with her eyes. 

Everyone was sleeping still. 

Then she felt the violent urge to cough. Her throat felt clogged with mucus, her nose was running, her eyes were watery and her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls. She was cold, and shivering. If anything, she nestled into Gene's side even more, as the kid nipped at her bare and exposed head. That's when Gene shifted, jumping awake, like he were in the middle of a nightmare. His eyes caught hers and they stared at each other softly.

" You okay, Gene?" she whispered softly, watching his eyes remain wide and frantic. 

" I'm fine, I should be asking you though, you're pale." he whispered. Lizzie reached up to touch her face, and looked away. She knew she was getting sick. Lizzie squeezed her eyes shut and sighed.

" We should probably getting moving for morning rounds." Lizzie said quietly as Gene watched her, worriedly in that sense. But then he nodded. Lizzie slowly crawled out from the warm blanket and up and out of the tarp into the fresh fallen snow. Her bones and muscles ached once she took a breath of fresh air in the new light. She slowly crawled out before pushing herself to her feet and watching Gene crawl out behind her. Lizzie stopped to watch the sky, curiosity hitting its peak when she saw the faintest hint of blue. 

A swirl of the oddest feeling filled her stomach; was it homesickness, nostalgia, excitement, she couldn't describe it, but it wasn't despair for once. Once her and Gene started moving through the snow, she couldn't keep her eyes from the sky which peaked through pine tree peaks. Then she found the sunshine pouring down onto her through the trees. 

And blue sky. 

Actual color! 

Lizzie couldn't stop looking at the sky, that she didn't even realize the rumbling of a plane roaring overhead. Her eyes widened. The supply drop. They'd get a supply drop. And suddenly there were people running past her, and cheering. She met Gene's eyes and she saw a bit of hope in his vision. Then he took off towards the open field nearby, running with the others. But Lizzie was still staring at the sky, a tiny smile falling over her lips. 

There was hope. 

Lizzie then ran, pushing her legs through the snow towards the open field that lay ahead of them. Her eyes were on the sky and the trees and the incoming planes. They were on everything and she couldn't contain her excitement and amazement. As she stood there, she glanced up towards the sky and watched with shining eyes as the planes came towards them, flying overhead. Chuck came up to her side and looked up towards the sky next to her. The two smiled at each other and Lizzie felt warm for once. 

But then gunshots from the sky echoed above them. Lizzie turned, looking towards the sky and her eyes widened; the planes were shooting at them. Chuck grabbed her hand and yanked her back and away and she stumbled over her feet as she fell into the cover of trees. The men started firing back with their weapons and Lizzie watched as the planes flew by. She could hear Lip yelling for a cease fire.

" They must've thought we were the Germans," Lizzie said quietly as Chuck looked to her. Then the two looked up and saw planes flying overhead. 

" C-47s." Chuck said quietly, as Lizzie looked up towards them, through the trees.

" It's a drop," Lizzie said, as her eyes widened. Supply drop. Medical supplies. She shot up like a bullet from Chuck's side, eyes scoring the group of men for Gene. 

" Gene!" Lizzie called, her voice hoarse and scratchy. She watched as he turned towards her and found her eyes.

" Lizzie!" he said as she arrived at his side.

" It's a drop, Lip's got a truck coming for us," he said.

" Let's go," she said. The truck drove into Bastogne, and they could see people walking the streets, rubble still covering the area, and a few care packages lying around as well. When they pulled up in front of the church that was being used for an aid station, Lizzie's eyes saddened. Skinny was probably still here.

" Alright, help the Docs." Lip called to the replacements he had called to join them and gather supplies. Gene made sure Lizzie got out of the truck, by gently taking her hand, before the two hurried into the aid station. Lizzie took off one direction as Gene went another. Lizzie stooped down at an area designated for the medics to get supplies. Lizzie felt her nose drip and she reached up to brush at it, and pulled back and realized her nose was bleeding. She ignored it and stocked a box up with supplies. 

Calls for a medic suddenly rang nearby and Lizzie spun around on her feet, remaining crouched and watched the chaos as a herd of medics began hauling a body in and nurses began calling out in French. She saw Gene moving right towards it. He had it, she knew he could take care of it; she knew Easy Company need medical supplies, so that's what she focused on. Lizzie listened to the chaos that seemed to go on in the other room, but she forced herself to get supplies She knew the medics in Easy Company needed that supplies, that if any of the men got injured there, they'd need this supplies to survive or else they'd die. 

Lizzie bit her lip as she continued to take her fill, still leaving supplies for the other medics. They needed supplies as well. Lizzie finally stood with her filled box and sucked in a shaky breath before glancing back to where the man who was injured, the nurses and Gene had gone. They weren't there anymore. It was just a sheet covering a body. Lizzie felt her breath hitch. Lizzie slowly walked up the steps out of the aid station and towards fresh air and stepped outside. She looked over and saw that Gene and the the pretty nurse were sitting together talking it seemed. Lizzie turned away searching for Lip. She found him directing the group of replacements they brought along.

" Lip!" she called as she walked over and he turned at the sound of her voice.

" Hey, Lizzie," he said as he hurried forward to take the box from her. Catherine had told him a few days ago she wasn't feeling well, but now her voice sounded clogged and hoarse. She did sound sick.

" You feeling ok?" he asked her as she walked by his side to the truck that waited nearby. 

" Yeah," she answered with a nod, even though he knew she was lying. She smiled up at him, but Lip could see the sickness in her eyes.

" Are you sure?" Lip asked her as he handed the box over to a replacement who took it to the truck. 

" Yeah, positive, why?" she asked, as had to suck in a cough. She hated hiding her sickness, but she knew it was getting around that she was sick. But she always hid her sickness. Lip glanced at the replacements before turning Lizzie away and gently placing an arm over her shoulder. She felt warmer instantly.

" Mack came to me the other day, she said you weren't feeling well," Lip told her softly. Lizzie looked up at Lip and sighed. 

" It's just a cold." Lizzie said as she turned and stood in front of him.

" Does Gene know?" Lip asked her. 

" Kinda I guess," Lizzie said. Lip raised a brow at her.

" Lip, I'm fine, I promise," she said quietly. Lip could tell she wasn't, between the cold and stress, her eyes were lifeless almost. Lip gently brought his hand up to feel her forehead and she looked up at him biting her lip.

" You feel warm," he said looking at her. Lizzie let out a sigh, as she felt tears well up in her eyes. It was a fever, she knew it waking up this morning. The light-headed walking, the tripping over her feet, the loss of appetite, everything. She knew she was getting sick and that if she didn't take care of herself better it'd get worse. But being a medic, she had to take care of the others before herself.

" I hate being sick," she whispered, as she looked up at Lip with tear filled eyes of sickness and pain. Lip gently hugged her as she wrapped her arms around his chest, and fought to hold back her tears. Lip always cared for everyone in the company and he was the resemblance of father figure to her in a way, even out here. 

" Make sure you get your temperature checked." Lip told her softly. She nodded against him sucking in her sniffles and tears. Lip leaned back and gently wiped at a tear on her cheek. She smiled sadly at him and he nodded to her.

" What's going on?" a voice asked and the two turned to see it was Gene with his box in hand. Lizzie sniffled and met Gene's eyes. Lizzie looked at Lip and he nodded before turning and walking away. Gene gently put down his two boxes and then looked at Lizzie, worry spreading across his entire face. Lizzie stood in front of Gene and bit her lip. She stood there, eyes welled up with tears. 

" Lizzie, what's going on?" Gene asked her. She felt she were going to cry, full on, breaking down in front of him. She didn't know why she was emotional.

" I just think I'm getting sick, and I want to help all the men who get injured, but I just can't keep the sickness from me, and I'm just overwhelmed." she said quietly. Gene looked at her. He knew she had been getting sick, and he knew she wasn't feeling great, and now she was realizing it. She was taking into account her own health. 

And now, he could see it in her eyes, he wasn't sure if it was feverish or sickness, but she looked exhausted. Gene opened his flap and took out a thermometer. He gently placed it on her lip and she stared at him worriedly as he looked back waiting for the temperature to go to its position. When Gene took back the thermometer he sighed.

" You're at 99.8, which means you probably have a fever coming," Gene said to her and Lizzie sighed. 

" You know I hate being sick, Gene," Lizzie whispered, " especially half way across the world."

" I know," Gene said as he stepped forward to hug her. 

Gene wasn't one to show much affection, in more of a physical touching way, it was more with his smiles or the way his eyes twinkled. 

But she gratefully hugged him back. 

Lizzie stared out over his shoulder, towards the devastation of the little town, but had to suck in a breath and shove her eyes into Gene's shoulder and pray for peace, for this stupid war to just end.

" What if you get sick, Gene?" she asked him.

" I won't," Gene said before pulling back and looking at her. She smiled with a nod. 

Gene would make sure of it, that's she's ok and that the other medics are ok, as well as the men and women of Easy Company. 


	76. the stand

" Strong people stand up for themselves, but stronger people stand up for others."

_\- Suzy Kassem_

✰✰✰

They drove back to the line with their boxes and supplies and Gene took to administering supplies to all the medics with Spina, but telling Lizzie to get some rest.

" I'm fine, Gene, it's not a true fever." Lizzie said, and Gene glanced at the men before stepping toward her.

" If you don't rest, it'll become one," he said and then smiled at her. She sighed with a smile and nodded. 

" I'll stock you up in a bit," Gene told her and she nodded. Lizzie wadded through the foxholes when Catherine came up to her. She looked exhausted, but she had been wide awake with Hazel's solo patrol.

" Lizzie!" Catherine called as she approached. 

" Hey, Mack," Lizzie said as Catherine stopped in front of her.

" Did you head into town? Everyone said the medics went into Bastogne for supplies." Catherine said. Lizzie nodded.

" Yeah, Gene and Spina are handing out supplies now to the other medics." Lizzie said.

" Hey, you ok?" Catherine asked her.

" It's just a slight fever," Lizzie said with an honest nod. And Catherine's eyes widened.

" Lizzie you didn't say you had a fever," Catherine said as Lizzie looked down sadly. 

" It's a slight fever and slight cold, Gene just wants me resting right now." Lizzie said, " I'll be fine."

" Well you rest then, you got a foxhole?" Catherine asked her. 

" Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine." Lizzie said and offered a small smile. Catherine watched her worriedly.

" Alright, you go rest now okay, think about yourself here and just rest, please." Catherine said rubbing her shoulder and Lizzie nodded as Catherine squeezed her shoulder. 

" Thanks, Mack," Lizzie said softly and Catherine smiled with a nod.

" Now, go, rest." Catherine said sending her off with a smile. She deserved it. 

Hazel was wadding her way towards the breakfast line, arms crossed over her chest. That morning, she'd woken up to the sound of planes overhead, blue skies, sunshine and Liebgott next to her. To say the least, she was still exhausted, but happy she had done her duty. 

Now, she was heading towards the breakfast line, which was close to turning to lunch by now. Hazel walked up and gratefully took the bowl of cold oatmeal, and went and sat down on a nearby log that was covered in snow. She sat down and feebly at the cold oatmeal, but she was hungry, she didn't care. 

Hazel glanced back towards the line and saw a familiar face; one she felt she hadn't seen in a while. 

It was Christopher Jenkins. He was talking to a bunch of his douche bag friends. But she knew 2nd Battalion shared a food line. Hazel just turned a side eye and focused on her food. She could hear them talking though, but she ignored it.

" Hey, you," she heard a voice say and she looked up to see Christopher coming towards her. His nose was bright red, but mostly everyone's nose was that color, but he looked more awake than ever. She raised a brow as he approached her. Then his eyes seemed to register that it was Hazel in front of him. 

" Hazel Parker," he said, and she didn't change her unwavering stare. She wasn't that quiet girl back at Aldbourne.

" Where's those 2 other goons you run around with?" he asked with a smirk. Hazel didn't even flinch.

" Well," she started, " Lieutenant McCown is up at Battalion HQ, working with Winters and Nixon on different geographic layouts and maps of the entire area. Doc Elliot, is risking her health and life everyday to make sure the men and women of the company get their much needed supplies if they get hit and making runs to Bastogne and back, as well as running through open fire with no weapon. And I work to ensure that if anything happens to anyone, I will go and retrieve their body, to make sure their family gets their gear back, so their family has something to remember them." Hazel stared at Christopher, who was staring back at her with wide, changed eyes it seemed.

" And you?" Hazel asked, nonchalantly. Christopher didn't have a response as he crouched in front of her, his friends watching from behind, curiously. They weren't those men from back at Aldbourne; they were different ones. They probably didn't make it. 

" Well, that sure is fascinating," Hazel said, as she stood and Christopher scrambled to his feet in front of her.

" I didn't say anything," Christopher said stopping her as she looked at him with a smirk.

" I know." she said. The two stared at each other, and at that moment Christopher seemed frozen in time. He wasn't saying a thing. 

And with that, Hazel turned away, with her tiny tin of oatmeal, leaving Christopher with a gapping mouth watching her go, and even more confusion from his friends. Hazel left with a smirk. 

She enjoyed the cold oatmeal a bit more that late morning, even though she wasn't planning on waking up late again. 

She didn't have the mental capacity to deal with him. 

Throughout the day, the company managed to avoid any major damage from the shellings, it seemed Fox Company got more damage just from the impact that came from Easy's one side. 

Hazel took to sitting on the edge of her foxhole, cleaning her weapon the best she could. Hazel was worried for Lizzie, who looked sick as sick could be, but she knew she had the company worried for her health, so she knew she was in a foxhole somewhere with someone. Hazel worried too much though now. 

But she knew if she didn't, she couldn't live with herself. 

These people were friends and family, they deserved to be worried over for everything. Hazel was worried for Lizzie's health; she hid it easily. And Catherine, Catherine had been through a lot, her emotions everywhere, but at least, hopefully the stress wasn't getting to her. 

Catherine's stress was through the roof. 

After Hazel had brought back Julian's body, Winters told her to get some rest and they'd take care of the body. So she did, but when she came back to CP the next morning, after a meal of cold oatmeal, she was stressed beyond stress.

" You ok, Catherine?" Nixon had asked her as the two sat side by side doing map maneuvers. Catherine was almost asleep by his side. She glanced over at him, with half open eyes.

" Just stressed, nothing new," she said and let out a dry sigh, shaking her head to focus herself on the map again.

" Right, what's really going on?" Nixon asked her. She looked to him, confused with a brow raised.

" Since when were you so concerned?" she asked.

" I may be sarcastic, Catherine, but I'm not an asshole." he said, and she smirked at his comment as he chuckled to himself.

" Come on, what's really bothering you?" he asked her, as he folded the map away.

" I'm just worried for everyone, I mean we already saw Skinny go, that was nerve-wracking enough when Lizzie told me that. I can't help but be worried for the men and women, especially since I can't be with them every second of ever day." Catherine said, " You know, I used to be one of them, intertwined within the enlisted before moving up here."

" Oh, I know." Nixon said, then looked at her, noticing the stress lines on her face and dark rings under her eyes.

" Gods just got a way of making decisions," Nixon said, " whether they die, get injured, or don't get hurt at all." 

" You still believe that?" she asked him, " You sound like Hazel."

" Yeah, you don't?" Nixon asked her with a smirk and she chuckled and rolled her eyes.

" You worried for Hazel?" Nixon asked her. Catherine nodded.

" She's one of the youngest members here, and she's just so, I don't know, innocent." Catherine said. 

" She's tough, even if she doesn't show it, Catherine, you know that." Nixon told her. Catherine sighed and let her shoulders drop.

" And Lizzie, she just she's sick and she's not taking care of the sickness as she should, I don't know, those girls are like family to me, I can't help but worry for their safety." Catherine said sighing. 

" Wow, I feel important," Nixon said as he sat back and looked at her. Catherine raised a brow.

" What?" she asked.

" I feel like Dick, you know listening to everyone's worries." Nixon said with a proud smirk.

" You what?" a voice asked and the two looked up to see Winters walk in at that very moment. 

" I said I feel like you, you know Catherine telling me all her worries," Nixon said proudly. Winters looked at him, and then just shook his head and Catherine smirked at Nixon, who rolled his eyes at her.

" Well, Regiment wants you, Sink said something about needing to see you," Winters said as he passed him a map. Nixon took it and looked through it.

" Ah, I figured, the man always needs me for something." Nixon said as he stood.

" Have fun," Catherine called to him with a smile, and he rolled his eyes at her. Winters sat down on his stool and ruffled through the papers and maps he had, before looking up at Catherine who sat, with a small, concentrated expression upon her face, biting her lip, as she stared off into the snow.

" Catherine," Winters said and she turned her head to look at him.

" Hm?" she asked.

" Are you ok?" he asked her, as she looked down away from his eyes to the ground. 

" Just stressed and worried," Catherine said.

" Anything you need to get off your chest?" Winters asked her. Catherine sighed, again, she'd done that a lot, and let out a shuttering breath. 

" I'm just worried for everyone. I was one of the enlisted once, and I still hang around and talk with them, but I'm always worried now because I'm not with them consistently like I was when I was Staff-Sergeant." she explained, " I just, I'm dreading the day that someone comes to us, and I hear one of the girls' names or someone like Lip, or the NCOs. I don't know what I'll do."

" If anything does happen, you know you will always be their friend, and their sister, Catherine. And if something does happen, the medics will be there, Roe and Elliot, and Spina, and Oates, and Mamphre. All of them. They'll all be there for them if something does happen." Winters told her. Catherine was a strong leader and a powerhouse in the face of Easy Company. In Winters' as well. She was extraordinarily level headed, and she was highly intelligent. She knew what she was doing, but sometimes you need a break.

" How about, you go and you visit them all, you take some time to yourself," Winters told her. Everyone needed a break sometimes, and at that moment Winters was worried for Catherine and just wanted her to have some time to calm down. Because in her current state, Winters didn't want her to start doing something and mess things up because she wasn't ok mentally.

" Really?" she asked him. Winters nodded, looking at her. 

" What time do you want me back?" she asked him. She was excited to just go and see her friends and be with them. She stood up and grabbed her helmet setting it on her head, before grabbing her weapon. She then turned to Winters who had stood up as well.

" Just go and see your friends, alright? Just be here by tomorrow morning." Winters told her. She stared at him with wide eyes. 

" Thank you, Dick." she said with a smile up at him. He nodded to her. She couldn't resist herself as she walked forward and wrapped him in a tight hug. Winters seemed surprised at first, before wrapping his arms around her small frame. She was grateful for the hug, even from Winters. She then pulled back.

" I'll see you tomorrow." she said, and then she dashed out. Winters smiled. Catherine hurried towards the groups of foxholes and smiled when she saw Joe Liebgott wandering about. 

" Joe!" she called out to him. He turned at the sound of his name and a smirk crossed his face.

" Hey, Mack, finally down from Battalion?" he asked her as she arrived at his side. 

" Yeah, Winters let me have some time to just see you all, you know after being with Nixon all the time," she said and Joe laughed.

" Where is everyone?" she asked.

" Probably at the dinner line, there's always a crowd of Easy people there, if you want to see them all." Joe said. The two headed towards the dinner line. Skip was the first to spot Catherine and Joe coming towards the group as he stood in line beside Malarkey.

" Mack?" Skip called a smile on his face as Malarkey looked towards where the girl was coming with Joe. 

" Miss me?" she said as she approached and Skip smirked at her.

" Haven't see you in days. Nixon have you packed in with maps or something?" Malarkey asked her, smirking.

" Must be fun." Skip said and Catherine laughed.

" Winters thought I needed some time with you all. I miss being amongst you all." she said and Skip smiled.

" Well, we sure miss you, have to deal with him all the time," Malarkey said pointing to Skip who slapped his side.

" Don, I swear to god." Skip warned as he laughed.

" What have you all been up to?" she asked.

" Oh you know, getting shelled every hour," Joe said by her side and she rolled her eyes.

" I know that, asshole." she muttered.

" Lizzie's sick as hell," Skip said.

" She was with Chuck and Tab all day today and she barely moved to get food. She's not doing well." Malarkey chimed in. Catherine sighed.

" Someone bring her food?" Catherine asked.

" Doc did, supposedly spoon fed it to her. Condition turned worse in just a few hours," Joe said shaking his head. Catherine sighed.

" Shit, she gonna be ok?" she asked.

" Doc's trying to get penicillin in, but there hasn't been any yet." Malarkey said.

" How's Hazel?" Catherine asked. 

" You haven't heard?" Malarkey said.

" Heard what?" Catherine asked, as her heart began racing.

" Told off that Christopher Jenkins, asshole, made him speechless." Joe said with a laugh.

" You scared me, Don," Catherine said and Malarkey laughed shaking her head. 

" What'd she say?" she said looking at Joe.

" Well, I pried it outta her. Some Dog guys were talking about it, and I asked her about it. Supposedly, Chris asked about all you ladies, and she went off. Fucking priceless. Knew she'd snap at some point." Joe said with a smirk. 

" You know what she say?" Skip asked him.

" Yeah, stuff about you ladies and all you've been doing to help out with the war. And she told the solid truth, scared him shitless I think. It was badass." Joe said, and Skip smirked proudly as Catherine smiled.

" Who would've thought it would be Hazel to tell him off?" Malarkey said with a smile, " She's great."

" You wanna know what she said at the end?" Joe said. The trio looked to him.

" Supposedly, after all that, he didn't say one word. Just stared at her. Fucking creep. Then she went something like, well, that sure is fascinating, and stands up to leave. Chris stops her and says he didn't say anything and she goes, I know. Brilliant." Joe said cracking himself up with a smile.

" Damn," Skip said with wide eyes. They would've never guessed Hazel could be like that towards someone with how innocent and quiet she always seemed to remain. 

" That's great," Catherine said smiling, " perfect response."

" Think she could go tell that to Dike?" Malarkey said and the group laughed. 

" I would love to see that," Skip said," you know she'd destroy him."

" She may be quiet, but she's got one hell of a mind up there." Catherine said smiling. That's when Hazel walked up to them, in her white helmet, and bright red nose.

" Hazel!" Catherine said as Hazel looked up and realized who was in front of her.

" Catherine! Hey, you're down from Battalion?" Hazel asked softly, with a smile. Catherine nodded. 

" Winters...he gave me some time to be here with you all." Catherine explained and Hazel smiled. 

" Hey, there she is," another voice called joining the conversation and the group turned to see it was Joe Toye. 

" Hi," Hazel said as she smiled at him.

" Heard you took a shot at the Chris shit head today," Joe said as he came up next to her in the group. She shrugged with a smile.

" I was just trying to defend everyone," she said with a smile as her cheeks warmed up.

" Nah, you scared the fuck out of him, Tiny, wish I was there." Liebgott said from her other side and Hazel looked at him with a smile, a slight giggle leaving her lips.

" I saw that guy as I came back from OP, going off to his friends about his dumb response to a tiny girl, that he had stumbled across back at Aldbourne. Figured it was you." Toye told her and Hazel smiled.

" Has it spread around?" she asked.

" Oh yeah," Skip said with a smirk and a nod. The group laughed.

" What did you tell him again?" Toye asked her. Hazel giggled to herself.

" After I finished, he didn't say anything, so I went, well that sure is fascinating and went to leave. He stopped me and said, I didn't say anything. And I went, I know." Hazel said and the group burst into laughs.

" Man, I wish I could've seen his face." Malarkey said.

" The one time I go to breakfast early," Skip said to himself as Hazel laughed. She enjoyed the group, just laughing together, enjoying each other and not thinking about the war. 

That night, Hazel went to check on Lizzie, her worry spiking completely. She slowly headed towards the medic's foxhole, which had a tarp overtop. She slowly crouched by the side and slowly peaked through the top, opening it up. Inside she saw Lizzie curled into Gene's side, fast asleep and shivering under the blankets, Gene sitting beside her, his arms holding her close. He looked up when he noticed Hazel there. Hazel's heart dropped. Hazel looked to Lizzie again. She seemed so ungodly sick.

" Gene, is she ok?" Hazel whispered. Gene sighed looking down at her.

" She says she's fine, but I know she's not. Her fever's slight, but I know it's going to grow." Gene told her. Hazel nodded.

" Ok, good night, Gene." she said with a small smile. Gene smiled.

" Stay warm," he said and she nodded before sliding back. Hazel then turned and headed back to her foxhole. It was late already, the group had spent the rest of their time hanging out, before they all decided to head back to their foxholes. 

Catherine told them she had to head back to Peacock, but she'd see them in the morning. Hazel found herself stumbling through the dark when she passed through a little open area that looked towards the German lines. She stopped, with her arms crossed over her chest, looking out towards the Germans. 

It was lightly snowing, and the sky was dark with a few visible stars, and she could see, the littlest bits of light as cigarettes were lit up or a tiny fire was set ablaze. Hazel continued moving. Hazel climbed into the foxhole that night to find Shifty already asleep, cuddled up on his side, the blankets just barely covering him. 

Hazel dropped into the foxhole and gently pulled the blankets over Shifty, before setting down her sniper and then crawling in next to him, immediately feeling a bit warmer under the blanket and with Shifty's body heat. She fell asleep, grateful that she would be getting, hopefully, a full night's sleep that night.


	77. merry friggin christmas

" There are some people who could hear you speak a thousand words and still not understand you. And there are others who will understand without you even speaking a word."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

The next morning was just like any other, waking up, Shifty by Hazel's side, the two chatting and heading to the breakfast line, and then heading back to their foxhole, chatting and cleaning their weapons. Hazel and Shifty were sitting side by side, their hands freezing as they attempted their best at cleaning their weapons when Lip came towards them. The two looked up as Lip slowly sat down on the other side of the foxhole.

" What's up, Lip?" Hazel said, as she turned back to her weapon and scrapped at it before handing the pad to Shifty to scrap with.

" OP caught movement from the German side, they're thinking that since the fog has lifted they're gonna be on the move soon," Lip said, " I wanted to make sure you two knew. In case the firing starts, Hazel, you'll move back into a position for sniping." Hazel nodded smiling at him. 

" I'm surprised Dike didn't search me out to say that," Hazel said and Lip and Shifty smirked.

" Can't find Dike anywhere, been missing all morning. I figured I'd tell ya in case." Lip said and Hazel smiled.

" Thanks, Lip." she said softly and Lip nodded.

" I'll see you two around, when this starts you know what to do. Stay safe." he said and then got up and got moving, walking around the foxhole and towards the others. Hazel and Shifty turned and watched Lip leave them. 

He was more of a CO than Dike will ever be. 

Hazel glanced at Shifty and he sighed before looking at her. The two sharpshooters looked back towards their weapons.

" Poor Lip," Hazel said sadly.

" I know," Shifty said.

" Why can't Dike just be where he has to?" Hazel said with a slight scoff. Shifty laughed.

" What?" Hazel asked looking at him with a slight smirk on her face.

" I've never heard you scoff before." Shifty said and then laughed.

" In all the time you've known me, you've never heard me scoff?" Hazel asked with a laugh. Shifty nodded with a laugh. Hazel just shook her head with a smile on her face. Catherine sat crouched by a few foxholes, her eyes never leaving the tree line as she watched tanks slowly but surely rolling in towards the American line. Her eyes were narrowed at the rumbling of the German tanks that slowly pushed out into the open towards them. 

" Hold your fire, boys." Catherine heard Lip say as he ran past them, running hunched over as he moved through the levels of the foxholes in attempt to calm them with the onslaught that was about to ensue. Catherine glanced towards where Hazel was set up. 

She was alone, but Catherine had positioned herself where she could see a clear path to where Hazel was. Catherine could see Hazel on her stomach, looking through her scope, hers focused and narrowed, gaze unwavering towards the German side. She wouldn't shoot though unless told. 

Catherine glanced towards Gene who sat in his foxhole, stiffly and quietly, this time with Lizzie by his side. Even though he had protested her being even involved, she told him she needed to be there for the men, even if she was sick. 

So there she was, sick as a dog, pale as ghost, shivering next to Gene in the foxhole. .

" Hold your fire!" someone yelled over the group as Catherine bit her lip. And then all then sudden, explosions ripped off right in their line. 

" Stay in your foxholes!" Catherine called over the group as she looked towards the German line again. She looked back just in time to see Smokey get shot. She jumped up quickly and saw Alley and More hurry towards him and lift him out of the foxhole. Catherine threw her weapon over her shoulder and hurried over to them as they began dragging Smokey back.

" Medic!" More screamed, as Catherine arrived at Smokey's head looking down on his pained expression. 

" Doc!" Catherine yelled turning towards where she had seen both of them last. She looked back at Smokey, and gently placed her cold hands on the sides of his head.

" You'll be ok," she promised him as she brushed his hair from his face. 

" Hi, Mack. Hi, Moe." Smokey said, eyes filled with tears.

" I got it, I'm keeping it for you." Alley said as he pulled Smokey's pistol from his jacket. 

" Smoke!" a voice came and Catherine looked up to see Gene's face appearing over top of him. Lizzie wasn't anywhere in sight. Catherine looked up and saw Lizzie over by someone else who was downed, working quickly with the person as she ripped open sulfa with her teeth.

" I can't feel my legs, Gene." Smokey said.

" Take it easy. My foxhole, get the plasma, now!" Gene called to Alley who took off.

" Here they come!" came a call and the trio around Smokey looked up to see the tanks pushing through the German line and out into the open. That's when gunshots exploded and Catherine looked back down at Smokey who groaned.

" You got 'em?" More called to Gene.

" I got 'em, go!" Gene yelled to him. More jumped up and turned jumping into his foxhole.

" Machine guns open fire!" Lip yelled. Catherine looked towards Genes eyes who met hers for a brief second.

" Doc!" a voice called and Alley came running by with the plasma before placing it down and running towards the battle. Explosions ripped off as Gene did his best to get to work on Smokey and Catherine covered his head, her eyes flying through the scene a mile per minute. She saw Smokey begin to move his head and look down. 

" Open fire, left!" Lip yelled and Catherine looked back up. The NCOs needed her help. Bullets continued whizzing past and explosions threw dirt and snow into the air, sprinkling down like rain.

" Gene, I gotta go!" she called over the fire fight.

" Go!" Gene yelled at her, and she forced herself up and away, racing forward and pulling her weapon from her shoulder. Catherine moved towards a tree and began shooting at the men in white she saw racing towards her, keeping her mind and gaze focused on the task at hand.

" Keep firing, men!" Catherine turned and yelled towards them as the fight picked up in the snowy wasteland. Catherine turned back to her Thompson and ripped off round after round, before standing and moving positions. 

" Keep all concentrated fire on those tanks!" Catherine called as she moved behind a set of machine gunners.

" Keep firing!" she called again, noticing another tank suddenly appear. 

" Sergeant Lipton!" Catherine heard a voice call and took a split second to recognize that it was Gene's voice yelling from behind her. She titled her head back to see in time as Lip collapsed at his side. She knew they'd be ok. 

That's when Catherine saw Lizzie working behind a bush on another man. Catherine sprinted towards the medic and collapsed by her side making Lizzie look quickly towards her.

" Lizzie!" Catherine called as she scrambled to her knees. 

" He'll be fine, I just need to drag him off the line or to a foxhole, but he'll make it!" Lizzie called to her, her voice hoarse.

" Need help?" Catherine called.

" No! You go make sure the men are alright!" Lizzie yelled and Catherine nodded. She gently squeezed Lizzie's shoulder before taking off, knowing at the moment she needed to fill in for the missing Lip who had to help Gene take Smokey off the line. 

An explosion went off next to Catherine and she curled into a ball on the ground as dirt sprinkled over top of her and snow melted through her ODs. She looked up again and saw the tanks coming closer, her heart racing.

" Bill!" Catherine called, searching for the man who moved among the foxholes quickly. Her eyes looked for Buck or Peacock or Shames, but she couldn't find them. A body then suddenly flew into her side and she looked over at the person and saw it was Bill.

" What a merry friggin Christmas!" he yelled to her as he struggled to stand up again from barreling full force into him. In all the fire fight, she'd forgotten it was Christmas Eve.

" Where's Lip?" Bill yelled to her.

" He had to help Gene pull Smokey off the line!" Catherine called, and Bill grumbled to himself.

" We need to concentrate fire on the right, all the tanks are moving there!" Bill yelled to her.

" Ok, go!" she called to him and the two parted ways as Catherine moved through the left side and focused fire on the tanks and men that swarmed the right side of the foxholes and gunfire. It resulted in a cold stalemate it seemed when both sides gave up with the battle and nighttime grew near. Christmas Eve and they were fighting. They couldn't even celebrate that. 

That night, the food line seemed a bit colder than normal, knowing Smokey had been hit and was paralyzed. 

Lizzie had been upset about Smokey; he was part of the core four group she had been with on D-Day, she hadn't imagined Smokey, paralyzed, she couldn't comprehend it. She had all but shoved it from her mind when Gene arrived back at the foxhole and quietly told her. That's when she had all but sighed to herself, cursing this stupid war. 

Gene, however, had come back from the aid station in Bastogne, completely and utterly quiet and cut off. Catherine had watched him come back and plant himself by the tree near the food line, but not get any actual food. He sat, staring off, eyes unfocused. 

Catherine had a soft spot for the medics of Easy Company. 

Lizzie struggling to open a door, Catherine helped her. 

Gene having too much to carry, she helped him. 

Spina having too many things to do, Catherine found a way to help him. 

Oates couldn't get in contact with CP, she took Oates straight to Winters. 

She was like that with all the medics. 

Because she knew they'd risk their lives for any man of the company. 

Catherine though, remained with the rest of the higher ups, beside Nixon, eyes looking at Gene's tiny figure against the tree. Hazel was behind Babe as he got his food and she heard him ask for food for Gene as well. Gene sat cold and lifeless against a tree. And Lizzie was nowhere to be seen. She was most likely resting. 

After the battle today, Hazel had seen Lizzie throw up. But Lizzie stood up and walked it off. Now she was most likely sleeping in the medic foxhole and missing a meal. Hazel glanced towards a figure at her side and saw it was Winters, whose eyes were on Gene. Hazel looked over as Domingus filled her tin and watched as Babe approached Gene. Gene didn't even register Babe in front of him, as he stared blankly ahead, his eyes sad. Hazel wanted to hug him, he looked so distraught. Suddenly, the sound of a jeep approaching entered the ears, and Hazel slowly walked away towards where Shifty stood. He smiled at her before pulling up his scarf over his mouth. Colonel Sink jumped out of the jeep.

" Better than sitting down to a Christmas Eve dinner of turkey and hooch back at the Division CP. Damned if I don't like old Joe Domingus' rancid-ass beans better." Sink said as he walked into the group of men. Hazel watched him from besides Shifty, shiveirng. 

" Hello, Easy Company." Sink said.

" Hello, sir." came the muddled response. Catherine looked up as Sink came towards Winters. Catherine watched as the two talked together quietly.

" I'd give anything for that turkey leg," Catherine muttered from besides Nixon watched Winters and Sink talk.

" I'd give anything for a cup of that Vat 69." Nixon said.

" How do you know it's Vat 69?" Catherine muttered.

" Oh I know," Nixon said through the cold and Catherine snorted. 

" Men! Women!" Sink called as he stepped back so the group could face him.

" General McAuliffe wishes us all a Merry Christmas. What's merry about all this, you ask? Just this. We've stopped cold everything that's been thrown at us from the north, east, south and wet. Now, two days ago the German Commander demanded our honorable surrender to save the USA encircled troops from total annihilation. The German commander received the following reply. To the German Commander, nuts!" Sink said, and giggles broke out among the men. Hazel had to hold back the laugh that wanted to escape as she looked at Shifty's eyes twinkle from behind his scarf. 

" We're giving our country and our loved ones at home a worthy Christmas present and being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms, we're truly making for ourselves...a Merry Christmas." Sink ended the note looking up at the group.

" Merry Christmas to you all and god bless you." Sink said. 

" Merry Christmas, sir." the response came from the officers and a few enlisted as the word nuts sprang up through the air in excitement and hilarity. But Catherine looked at Gene, he had no emotion on his face, staring out towards nothing, his eyes blank, and worry filled. 

Catherine's eye didn't tear from Gene's face. He seemed so emotionless and blank and cut off from everyone. Catherine was worried for him. 

After Sink had left, and everything had died down, the group went back to receiving their meals, and eating together chattering quietly.

Tab had brought Lizzie a thing of food, which she had all but ate one tiny bite of and then had given up trying to eat, even if she knew she should. She was sick and upset and a reck, but who wasn't. It was nothing new in any sense. Lizzie looked up from where she sat cuddling into a blanket to see Gene softly sliding into the hole. Lizzie met his eyes, sadly, as Gene watched her gaze with his own hardened eyes. 

" Did you eat?" she whispered. Gene watched her and then slowly shook his head, eyes never leaving hers. Lizzie bit back her lip, with exhausted eyes. She slowly scooped up a tiny bit of food on the spoon and then looked over at Gene.

" You have to eat." she whispered again, watching him. Gene barely even seemed to register the words as he stared at her. Lizzie slowly brought the spoon closer to his lips and Lizzie watched as he slowly opened his mouth up a tiny bit. He took the food with ease as she then scooped the spoon back into the cold food. She glanced towards Gene again who softly ate the food, eyes distant. 

But he was eating. 

And so, in the silence, Lizzie managed to get Gene to eat a portion of food, and have his belly filled. 

And he took each scoopful, even if his poor, tired eyes could barely meet her own. But they were medics and if at the moment they couldn't help others, they helped each other. 

With Gene and Lizzie, they didn't need to talk to understand each other. Both knew that the other was hurting and that they were going through their own mental battles. But they knew they had each other and that was enough. Lizzie slowly pulled the blanket from her and crawled in next to Gene, lying the blanket over both of them. He looked down at her, his eyes blank and unfocused, more blurred than normal. 

She didn't ask him what was wrong, there was too many openings for that. 

She just brought the blanket up around him, and cuddled into his side, taking his hands in hers as she encased his freezing fingers in her slightly chilled mittens. Gene gently let his head rest on top of hers as his body went slack. Lizzie sniffled from next to him, clasping his hands tightly in her hands. She just wanted him to be ok.

" Merry Christmas, Gene," she whispered softly, her voice mixing with the German's singing Silent Night, as Lizzie's head swam.

" Merry Christmas, cherie." came Gene's quiet whisper back, his voice quiet and hoarse. Lizzie simply cuddled into his side more, trying to provide as much warmth as she could. 

Because he needed it more than her right now.


	78. hands

" May your hands be an extension of your heart and may you do the work of love with them."

_\- Aja Monet_

✰✰✰

Hazel was sitting outside her foxhole, staring at the sky. She couldn't sleep, so she stared at the stars, like back on D-Day, at night of her first night in combat. Shifty had fallen asleep, but she couldn't. She envisioned she was home, under the stars with the Christmas tree lit up inside, as she sat on the porch with her mug of hot chocolate. 

She missed that. 

The snow she felt numb to as she lied there in it, she didn't even feel it anymore, even though she was freezing more than normal. She heard the Germans and their beautiful, blissful singing. It was so peaceful in a time like now. She wished she could lay here forever, just listening to them sing. Their raw, pained voices singing the tune. 

However, she got a sense of loneliness as she lay there, reminding her of the Christmas her father left the family. She still had his letter in her pocket. She sat up and pulled it from the flap and looked at the letter. 

It was her father. 

She knew she should answer him again, but she felt she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to talking to him after what he did and decided to do. 

That is no father with a family. 

If he couldn't take the Depression, even though he had a caring family, she knew he couldn't handle her in this war. He even stated it. Her mother had been so strong through it all though and she had admired her mother for that. She put on a brave face for her daughter and worked for meals and clothing and keeping a roof on her head and house warm. She had found strength deep inside her and admired it a lot. 

Hazel looked at the letter from her dad again. She shoved it away rather angrily and shut her eyes, trying not to think about it. She then pulled out her mother's most recent letter. Vest had come around with letters that afternoon but Hazel had wanted to open it alone. Hazel finally open the letter.

_Hazel,_ _  
_

_I hope by the time you receive this that it is Christmas for you. But I know this is not the Christmas you wanted. I read the paper recently and saw about the recent movements, it's been called the Battle of the Bulge. I'm sorry you're involved now, but with your friends that you have and the strength you all carry together, I know you'll make it through. You're strong, Hazel. Incredibly strong and even though it is a quiet strength, you've always shown your strength in your own way and I adore that about you. I know you just might've gotten another letter from me, but I wanted one for you for Christmas. How are the girls, Catherine and Lizzie? Are they safe? How are their families? I might've never met them, but they sound like sisters to you and daughters to me. How about Joe? You always wrote such lovely things about him. Or what about Shifty Powers? He seemed to be someone you brought up._

_Christmas feels bittersweet this year. I miss you dearly as my daughter, basically one of my best friends. But you're fighting in a war that will alter the world and it's for a good cause - to win. Harry has visited though many times and he's helped me with the little garden and shoveling snow and he's helped me with baking and cooking meals. He always asks about you, and hopes you're doing well and I tell him that you're doing as best as you can out there. Daisy has been a great company for me, she always sleeps on my bed, and we watch the sunset together like you and I, she's always there and I'm grateful. Mrs. Henderson from the Italian deli in town has come to dinner with me many times through the past few years without you, and she's brought her family to the house on the weekends for dinner and it's a big feast._ _  
_

_For Christmas, I'm having over the Henderon's, Harry's family, the Willis' and the Smith's. Even though it is not the biggest area to celebrate the holiday, they've all chipped together because they knew you wouldn't be home for the holiday and they think families together who all have a member missing would be better to celebrate. The Henderson's son James is in the Pacific. Mrs Henderson and I always talk about how our son and daughter are in the war when we go out to eat. As you know, Harry's brother is in the 1st Army right now and the Willis' son is with the 2nd Armored. The Smith's son is with the Marines out in the Pacific. It's comforting to know that even though they don't know where you are. But I'm still proud of my baby girl._

_I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, as warm as you can be, my love. I love you. You always have something to fight for out there, even if you feel you don't._ _  
_

_Love, your mother,_

_Lena_

Hazel bit her lip to hold back the cry that wanted to escape.

" Merry Christmas, mom." she whispered, knowing that on the other side of the world she could sense it even though they weren't near. Hazel wished she could be home with her mother, but she knew to win this war, would be worth it more to be with her mother in the end. 

" Hazel?" she heard a voice ask and looked up with hot tears running down her face to see it was Lip.

" Hey, Lip," she said, and wiped her nose and folded the letter up and put it away. 

" You ok?" he asked and Hazel nodded. Lip slowly crouched down in front of her and then glanced over and saw Shifty asleep in the foxhole.

" I just miss my mom," Hazel managed out through a cry. Lip gently sat in the snow next to her and pulled the girl into a hug in his arms. Hazel wrapped her arms around herself as Lip held her in the warm hug he provided. She felt herself crying all she felt she could out of her body, her cries quiet, and soft as she did so, but Lip let her cry and he rubbed her back gently and held her in his warm embrace. 

She always cried around Lip; the poor guy. 

He was more of a CO than a 1st Sergeant she felt, but she'd never tell him that. She just was glad someone like Lip was always there for the men and women of the company.

" I'm sorry," she whispered, shaking her head, as tear ran down her face. 

" It's ok to miss your mom, Hazel, I miss my mom. No matter where you are, you always miss your mom." Lip said as Hazel looked at him with a tiny smile. She brought a hand up to wipe away her tears, as Lip watched her with soft eyes.

" Thank you, Lip." she whispered. Lip smiled.

" Try and get some rest." Lip told her as he helped her stand to her feet.

" I definitely will." she said softly. Lip smiled before turning and walking away. She listened to the singing a little bit more, before hunkering down into the foxhole again. She slipped her weapon off her shoulder and cuddled under the blankets next to Shifty, who cuddled into her warm presence. Hazel always had horrible flashbacks on Christmas Eve, that just flittered through her vision, but she let them all but roll away for the most part now. She couldn't focus on the past. She had to focus on the present. And for the now the present was enough. Hazel smiled, as she cuddled into Shifty's side. 

Even though, her mother is across the world from her, she still had a family right where she was and she was grateful for that. 

Catherine sat next to Harry, with Peacock, a small fire going in front of them on the Christmas holiday. Catherine blissfully shut her eyes as her fingers found warmth for the first time in what felt like months. It soothed her numb fingers, and she was gratefully for even the tiniest bit of heat. Footsteps slowly mounted next to them and Harry and Catherine glanced over to see it was Winters. Catherine bit her lip.

" Harry." Winters said as Peacock look up this time. Catherine realized that Winters looked frozen to the bone. 

" Fire's not a good idea." Winters said and Catherine slowly retreated her hands from over the flame. He was right.

" Just a couple of minutes," Harry said, as if annoyed, " we're in a dell." Catherine felt Winters slowly crouch down next to her and she glanced at him slightly. 

" A dell?" Winters asked and Catherine smirked to herself.

" You mean where fairies and gnomes live?" Winters asked him, and Catherine bit her lip to hold back the laugh that wanted to escape. More footsteps came towards them.

" I swear I thought I could smell a fire." the voice said and the group of 4 turned to see Nixon coming towards them, arms crossed over his chest. He stopped as Catherine watched his eyes find the fire.

" I did smell a fire," he said. 

" Are you out of your mind?" he said as he crouched between Winters and Peacock.

" Well, we're in a dell." Winters said, as Catherine looked back to the fire. 

" Huh?" Nixon asked, utterly confused. Suddenly a whistle echoed from above them and she felt someone jostle her quickly to the ground.

" Oh, god no!" a pained and guttural cry screamed, as Catherine pushed herself, dizzily up from the ground, her vision spotted with black dots. She watched as an explosion ripped off near her head as Winters rushed forward towards the man. It was Harry. He was screaming and he was in pain. Winters got right on top of him, as she began to hear Nixon calling for a jeep. 

" Stay still, stay still Harry!" Winters said to the man as he held him back to just steady him as he moved around. Catherine managed to get to her feet and collapse by Harry's side to hold him still.

" Hey, put that out!" Nixon called and Peacock immediately began stomping it out. Winters ripped open where the wound was before turning over his shoulder and looking towards the foxholes. 

" Medic!" he yelled, " Doc!"

" Gene!" Catherine yelled in desperation. 

" Medic!" Winters yelled.

" Gene, Doc, someone!" Catherine yelled, as Harry continued to scream out in pain grasping at the wounds that covered his body. 

" Doc!" Winters yelled again, as Catherine tried to hold Harry's head and stop him from looking at the wound.

" Roe!" Winters yelled as Peacock appeared next to Catherine and tried to hold back Harry's wriggling hands. 

" Harry, please, just stay still." Catherine pleaded with the man, but she knew the pain was too overwhelming to even listen to her. That's when, like an angel, Catherine could see Gene come running through the forest, helmet on his head, satchel swinging at his side, Lizzie not too far behind him. That's when she saw Gene stop cold, as Lizzie arrived at his side, looking sicker than Catherine had ever seen here.

" Roe?" Winters asked as he stood there, Lizzie barely awake. It seemed then that Gene woke up again and walked forward as both he and Lizzie kneeled next to each other and began looking at Harry. Hazel slowly stepped forward, watching from a few feet behind them, eyes on the sight in front of her. Winters shuffled back as Gene took ahold of Harry's leg, and Lizzie began pulling sulfa and bandages and a tourniquet from her bag. 

" Stay still, Harry." Winters seemingly scolded at the man as Catherine watched Gene work, her eyes never leaving his helmet. Catherine glanced at Lizzie who was sitting there, holding back a cough, with sunken in eyes, and a bright red nose.

" It's just a scratch, Harry." Nixon said, " you're not getting out of here this easy." 

" Jeep's on it's way, hang tough." Winters said, as Gene moved to reposition Harry's leg again.

" Here," Lizzie said and handed the tourniquet to Gene who gently took it and began wrapping it around Harry's leg. Harry moaned. Catherine watched as Gene's hands became covered in blood, pulling the sulfa packet from his mouth, and pouring it on the wound. Gene took the bandage from a quiet Lizzie and looked to Winters.

" I got morphine in my pocket, give it to him." Gene said.

" Where you want it?" Winters asked as Catherine watched Gene begin to wrap Harry's leg wound the best he could at the moment. 

" Opposite thigh." Gene said, as Harry let out a cry, and Catherine gently stroked at his hair to calm him. Then Gene tied off the wound, and Catherine glanced up at him.

" Elevate his head." Gene said and Catherine slowly brought up Harry's head a bit to her lap. Gene leaned forward and in blood painted an M on his forehead. 

" Get him up." Gene said, and everyone stood back to help Harry to his feet and to the jeep. Catherine sat still and frozen, her heart racing as Gene didn't move either. She watched Gene take the piece of the sulfa packet from his mouth and let out what seemed to be a grimacing sigh. She watched Winters come back towards Gene, as well as Lizzie, who could barely walk; she stumbled.

" Eugene," Winters said as he crouched next to Gene," get yourself into town, get a hot meal." Gene faintly nodded. Catherine watched with sad eyes as Gene stood up, Lizzie slowly helping him to his feet even in her poor state. Catherine watched Gene exhaustedly meet Lizzie's eyes and whisper something to her, but she shook her head. 

" I'm going with you." Lizzie said, her fever filled eyes watching Gene's study her own.

" Lizzie..."

" I'm not risking losing you, Gene," Lizzie said and Gene had never seen a more serious expression across her face. Gene watched her.

" Come on," he whispered and gently turned her, a gentle hand on her back as the two moved towards the truck. Lizzie slid into the truck right in next to Gene and he looked towards her, blankly and only merely confused. He had no real response as she sat there. She nodded to him before looking out at the wilderness as the truck zipped away. 

The few miles it took to get to Bastogne flashed by quickly, and Lizzie couldn't keep her eyes from looking up towards the sky, which was filled with the Luftwaffe and bombs. Lizzie had to put her eyes somewhere else. Search lights seemed to dance across the sky, as the noise rattled in her eyes. She shut her eyes instead for a brief moment hoping the noise would soon go away. The guns that were set in Bastogne, fired up towards the sky, but they were no use as their jeep came bouncing into Bastogne. 

Lizzie's eyes were on the rubble that covered the town, the people on the side of the road, Gene, Harry, the sky, the flashing lights, everything. It overwhelmed her. People were screaming and running away and explosions were going off throughout the town. Lizzie sat there powerless as the jeep bumped along. Lizzie eyes widened as a large fiery explosion went off, lighting up the sky as if it were golden. 

A whistle echoed overhead as Lizzie watched Gene leap forward, throwing his body overtop of Harry. Lizzie didn't hesitate herself to throw herself on top of Gene there, curling her body over top of him, feeling his heart racing beneath her. She prayed it would stop, that the explosions would seize. An explosion, of metal shards, glass, and concrete exploded and bits of debris hit her ODs. She had to glance up before an explosion came directly from their left and Lizzie shoved her head back into Gene's back, squeezing her eyes shut. 

The whistling and the explosions didn't seize as each one came down, one after the other, blowing up the town piece by piece. The jeep slowly pulled to a stop and Lizzie practically feel out of the jeep as Gene slid off and into her. The two caught each other and watched each other's dark brown eyes through the smoke, before turning and looking to where the jeep was faced. Gene's eyes were on the church that stood in front of them, which she assumed was the aid station. Lizzie watched as people stumbled out, coughing and hacking out bits of smoke stumbling from the dark abyss. Suddenly, Gene ran forward, letting go of her arms as a jeep on fire almost ran him over and he darted to the side.

" Gene!" she called as he raced forward, towards the church. She avoided an explosion and kept moving forward, just in time to see a huge explosion engulfing a building in flames explode in front of them. Her eyes widened as Gene stopped and held his hands up in front of his eyes, as if shielding himself. It was like fireworks from Fourth of July exploding above her head as she squinted through the smoke and debris and watched Gene run forward again.

" Gene!" she yelled again to him, as her heart rate picked up in speed. She saw his body racing through the dark towards the church and she picked up her pace, tripping a bit as she did so. She couldn't have him hurt. The noise in her ears was overwhelming as she kept Gene in her sight. Gene ran straight into the church as someone ran out.

" Stay out of there!" the person yelled as he turned and raced away not even glancing at Lizzie. Lizzie hurried forward just in time to see Gene stop dead. Explosions went off behind them, but Lizzie could see Gene's back grow ridged, his breath picking up as cloudy puffs escaped from his lips, encasing his body. 

Lizzie sucked in her own breath watching him stand so still. More rubble continued to explode and fall, she heard it, but the way Gene stood was scaring her. He was so still. She watched Gene take a few steps forward before leaning down and slowly pulling out a blue cloth. The Earth settled for a moment as Gene stood there so quietly. Lizzie couldn't move watching him. Suddenly another explosion rang out.

" Medic!" another medic called to him, " Get your ass out here! Come on!" Gene barely turned at the sound of his voice. Instead he turned back, with the cloth in his hands, standing absolutely still. A loud deafening explosion went off and Lizzie looked to the sky. She looked back at her fellow medic in the church.

" Gene." she whispered, her voice so quiet, but she knew he could hear her, his shoulders had sagged a bit. Gene turned around and she caught his eyes immediately. He slowly stepped towards her, distraught, his eyes full of pain and sadness. But he stepped toward her, and gently turned her away. 

And she did. 

Lizzie was sitting across from Gene in a tiny place that was still running and preparing food for people. It was 1 am, and they were the only ones there, but the man who ran it with his wife was still cranking out food. He told them it was to be preparing them incase the Germans raided them. 

Lizzie sat, with sad eyes, clutching a warm cup of tea. 

Gene was across from her, looking at her. He noticed how exhausted she looked. He'd been so caught up with things, he never realized how exhausted everyone else looked at the moment. Her hair was coming out of her bun, her eyes were downcast, her fingers were white, a pale and covered in some blood and ash, her cheeks were a bit ashy as well, and there was a tiny cut on her cheek that was bleeding. She looked so warn out. Once they'd gotten Harry to another aid station nearby, the driver took them as he made other runs, saying he'd be back at 2.

" Lizzie?" Gene asked quietly and she slowly looked up at him, her eyes filled with sadness. 

" Yeah?" she asked quietly. Gene bit his lip as he watched her eyes fill with tears. He didn't know what to say that could possibly comfort her right now. There was nothing to say.

" Why'd you follow me?" he asked quietly.

" I couldn't have you hurt, Gene, you're one of my closest friends,," Lizzie whispered, as she felt her heart ache suddenly. Gene was quiet.

" You're hands," she whispered and Gene looked at her from across the tiny wooden table. Gene slowly placed his hands on the frozen table, ones that were covered in blood and had saved so many people. Lizzie bit her lip and slowly placed her cup to the side. 

Lizzie slowly let out a sigh and gently took Gene's hands in her own. She didn't care that they were covered in blood or dirt or snow. She couldn't look up and meet Gene's gaze as she watched his hands slowly clasp hers in his own. She felt warmer suddenly. She shut her eyes, relishing the warmth her hands felt just clasped in his. She let her eyes open slightly as she looked up towards Gene. He was already looking at her. 

His eyes were so comforting, even filled with grief and sadness. Lizzie felt herself watching his eyes, almost drawn in by them, as she squeezed his hand tighter, trying to find comfort. She knew her eyes were growing watery, just by watching his eyes. She let out a quiet breath and looked back down at their hands. She had never felt or been so vulnerable like this with someone, besides the girls.

" Gene?" she whispered, as she sniffled, and felt herself needing to suck back her tears. 

" Merry Christmas," she whispered sadly, as she looked up at him, a tear falling slowly from her cheek as she did so.

" Merry Christmas, ma cherie." he whispered softly, as Lizzie sniffled.

" Your soup?" a voice said and Gene and Lizzie immediately sat back, releasing each other's hands as they looked up and saw the man standing there with the soup in his hands, a small smile on his face. Lizzie nodded as he placed the bowls down in front of them.

" Thank you," Lizzie whispered.

" Merci," Gene said with a small smile and a nod. The man nodded before turning and walking away. Lizzie looked back at Gene, as the steam slowly billowed up in her face.

" Are you ok, Gene?" Lizzie asked him as his eyes remained so lost it seemed. Gene looked at her, before biting his lip. 

" I've never felt so lost, Lizzie." Gene told her softly, " With everything." Lizzie felt her shoulders drop.

" I'm sorry, Gene." she said softly, as he sent her a small smile.

" It's not your fault, Lizzie, it's all in my head," he said quietly with a sigh. Lizzie slowly began eating her soup.

" You ever wish it would all stop?" Lizzie asked quietly, " And we could go home?"

" I have," Gene said with a nod, " I just wish my mind would stop being so loud." 

" I know what you mean," Lizzie said quietly and offered a tiny smile. Gene smiled softly back at her. The two ate the rest of their soup together, quietly talking and stealing glances at each other from over the soup bowls. When they finished, the wife of the man who was making the soup came up to them.

" You finished?" she asked with a tired smile.

" Yes, thank you," Lizzie said and the woman took the bowls away with a grateful smile to the two of them. 

When Lizzie and Gene got back to the company that night, Lizzie stopped Gene, and who looked at her from under the rim of his helmet as she did the same.

" Thank you, Gene," she whispered. 

" Of course," he whispered back in the dim moonlight, " I have to go do something, it's Heffron." Lizzie smiled softly, sniffling as she crossed her arms in the night, looking up at him.

" You do that, I'll be in the foxhole." she said and Gene nodded at her, looking down at his hands before glancing up at her. 

" Lizzie, wait, um..." Gene watched as Lizzie turned and looked back at him softly, " thank you, for what you did for me today, even though you've been sick." Lizzie watched him with a small smile.

" I know when you're hurting Gene, and it's not fun to go through it alone. I'm hurting to and the only thing that helps is when you have someone else with you. I knew I needed to be there for you," Lizzie said softly. Gene looked at her and smiled. He nodded. 

" I'll be back in a bit." Gene said quietly and she nodded.

" Merry Christmas, Gene." she whispered looking up at him. Gene watched her eyes sadly. 

This would be Christmas 1944, a Christmas that would leave none of their minds for as long as they lived, a harsh reality of the futilities of war and the pain of the experiences you went through. 

Gene gently watched her eyes which held a life that was held down by war. 

He slowly reached forward and took her hands in his before pulling them up to his lips. He gently let his eyes shut as her pressed a soft kiss to them. No matter what her hands looked like, what death they had experienced, what injury or wound that had bore, he held a soft kiss there. He then gently looked towards Lizzie.

" Merry Christmas, Lizzie," he whispered softly as the two stood and watched each other for a moment. 

A moment of peace and quiet and solace. 

A resting moment that even a medic needed sometimes. 

**_On December 26h, 1944, General Patton's Third Army broke through the German lines, allowing supplies to flow in and the wounded to be evacuated._ **

_**The story of 'The Battle of the Bulge' as told, is one of Patton coming to the rescue of the encircled 101st Airborne. No member of the 101st has ever agreed that the division needed to be rescued.** _


	79. christmas

" The most beautiful things in life are not things. They're people and places and memories and pictures. They're feelings and moments and smiles and laughter."

_\- Unknown_

✰✰✰

Christmas Day, 1944. 

Hazel had woken up, just like any other day, still freezing, still missing home, but feeling better at the moment. The sky was dreary, as per usual, and the forest was dark and cold, even during the middle of the day when it should be the brightest.

The late night barrage had caused a casualty, Harry Welsh, but supposedly he'd be ok. 

Tab had come running by their foxhole last night and told them. After Hazel had stared up and out of the tarp and towards the sky for a bit, she dragged herself out of the foxhole, leaving Shifty so sleeping, the boy never got enough rest anyway. 

So Hazel headed to the breakfast line, she figured that maybe some of the men and women would be there, and maybe, quite possible Christmas 1944 would not suck as much as she thought it would. Hazel glanced at her watch and saw it read 0800, people most definitely would be there. When she came upon the breakfast line she was right. 

She saw Catherine, smiling and joking with Bill and Babe. 

Lizzie was even there, sitting on a log next to Bull. Hazel walked towards the group a smile on her face. Tab who standing nearby talking to a few replacements when he noticed the girl trudging through the snow, her nose bright red amongst the wilderness.

" Tiny!" he called, pushing up off the tree he was leaned up against. Hazel looked up with a smile.

" Hey, Tab." she said, as she approached and the man came forward, wrapping an arm over her shoulder.

" Merry Christmas, was wondering when you'd be up." he said as he looked down towards her.

" Merry Christmas to you too Tab," she said with a bright smile.

" I would kill for a warm bowl of my ma's chicken noodle soup." Tab said.

" Or a turkey dinner, my mom always cooked those, especially with mashed potatoes." Hazel said.

" You and your mashed potatoes." Tab said with a snicker.

" You know they're good," Hazel said with a smile up at him.

" You staying warm?" Tab asked her, " Especially with Shifty, you two are tiny." Hazel grinned with a giggle.

" We're doing fine, and we're managing a bit of warmth if you can imagine." she said a laugh leaving her mouth which made Tab grin. A laugh could make anyone's day, especially on Christmas Day. The morning was slow, as Merry Christmas rung around the tiny area in the Bois Jacque, and it was just a bit happier than normal that morning. Catherine was heading towards CP. She arrived and saw Winters and Nixon talking together.

" Hey," Catherine said as she entered and removed her helmet. The two turned at the sound of her voice.

" Hey, Catherine," Winters said, as Nixon beckoned her over.

" What's up?" she asked as she moved in between the middle of the two, and leaned against where she could see a map was visible. Their warmth immediately brought her focus better onto the map and she was glad. Christmas Morning had been freezing.

" McAuliffe said he's expecting opposition from the Germans soon," Winters said.

" Some opposition," Nixon muttered, " we give the answer that we won't surrender and they push back on us again." Catherine let out a sigh.

" Is Harry going to be ok?" she asked them, knowing the obvious tension that circled around them was because of that. 

" He'll be fine, like I said, it's just a scratch. He'll heal up." Nixon said looking at her. She looked up at him and bit her lip.

" Was Doc Roe ok?" Winters asked her, and she glanced towards him. She nodded.

" He will be," she said, " it's just a lot, especially for a medic, no wonder Lizzie is sick."

" I was worried for him, worried about battle fatigue." Winters said and sighed to himself. 

" That's what I was worried for," Nixon said, " takes a toll. Went up through Bastogne a few days ago, and all those medics looked glazed over. Make sure you just check up on him and make sure he's ok." Catherine nodded.

" I was thinking about doing that anyway." Catherine said. 

" How's Lizzie?" Winters asked her. Catherine glanced at him.

" She doesn't look good at all. And she says she's fine, but I know she's not." Catherine said, glancing back at the map again, " She hides her emotions and sickness really well." 

" Has Dike been around?" Catherine asked them. Nixon laughed.

" Yeah, right, the guy's been up at Regiment for some time. I told him last night that he needs to stop disappearing, but he keeps wandering around." Nixon said and Catherine shook her head with a smirk. 

" He's never where he should be," Catherine muttered. Christmas Day of 1944 drug on. It felt like a boring day, with nothing remotely happening. 

That was until Luz, who they had dubbed Jolly Old Saint Luz, came around with a coat, or a pair of gloves, or a pack of smokes. Everyone seemed to get a little something, and it made people's entire days. It was nice to finally feel a bit of hope even if it was in the form of a tiny little cigarette. 

Hazel and Joe sat side by side at dinner, laughing hysterically over a past memory from one of the trips to Birmingham, where he had tripped and launched the fresh beer in his hand all over the ground and then had slipped on it and had bruised the side of his leg in the process. Their laughs had filled the dinner area with a bit of Christmas spirit that night, as if they were drunk on joy even in the dark wasteland. 

And Joe Toye had even sung that night as the group had finally settled down, a little tune by the name of _O Come, All Ye Faithful_. Joe had started singing, a soft, yet raspy magic in his voice as he stood in front of the circle of Easy members, a smile on his face, as he sang with such soul. Joe gently crouched beside Lizzie and urged her on.

" O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!" Lizzie sang softly, her voice a sweet and pure sound as if it were honey, a smile on her face, eyes shut, reminiscing, " O come ye, O come yet to Bethleham; come and behold him." 

" Born the King of Angels:" Malarkey said and chuckles spread around the group as Joe Toye met Hazel's eyes as she blushed.

" O come, let us adore him," she sang softly meeting Liebgott's eyes from across the tiny group, a smile spreading on her lips.

" O come, let us adore him," Skip sang proudly standing and waving his arms in a motion that would get the group singing together, as he walked over and slung an arm over Joe's shoulders as if he were a drunkard, " O come let us adore Him-im! Christ...the lord." Cheers rose up after everyone finished singing the tune, and there was clapping and cheers as Joe bowed rather dramatically and then offered Skip a bow, clapping his hands as Skip bowed. Hazel felt so warm in such a dreary place. She felt so oddly warm, even if it were just her heart that was warm.

" Oooh Joe, how about Silent Night!" George called as Joe smiled, clearing his throat.

" Silent night...." Joe sang, looking towards the sky as if he were a poet. Hazel watched with gentle eyes, completely entranced.

" Holy night...." Joe sang softly, " All is calm, all is bright...."

" Round yon virgin mother and child." Lizzie sang, her voice gentle as she stood and wrapped an arm around Joe, " Holy infant, so tender and mild...."

" Sleep in heavenly peace...." Malarkey sang as others started to join in all around them, " Sleep in heavenly please." As Hazel sat, listening to the group of men and Lizzie sang, she felt nostalgic. 

It was like the Christmas songs on the radio at home, as the sweet smell of cinnamon would waft around the house, and the bright twinkling lights would make the fallen snow glow outside. Hazel's eyes glowed.

" Merry Christmas..." she whispered to herself softly, touching her dog tags, letting out a shaky breath that no one else could hear.

" Hey Hazel, you up for a little I'll be Home for Christmas?" George called to her standing as he brushed off his clothes, " Bringing it back to London?" Hazel blushed. Singing? In front of everyone? 

" You can do it, Hazel," Babe said encouragingly from beside her as she glanced his way. Hazel sucked in a tiny breath and slowly stood rubbing her hands together and walking towards George. He smirked at her.

" You know the tune don't ya? It's the Big Ben song." George said, giving her shoulder a shove as she laughed lightly nodding. 

" I'll be home for Christmas....." George started, his voice actually quite nice to listen to, a bit raspy like Joe Toye's, but soulful. Hazel smiled softly.

" You can plan on me..." Hazel started gently, looking towards Lizzie who watched her with shining eyes, a grin on her face. George smiled.

" Please have snow..." Hazel sang gently.

" And mistletoe!" George called as Hazel giggled. 

" And presents by the tree..." Hazel sang with a smile on her face as George smiled at her.

" Christmas Eve will find you." George sang pointing to her as she laughed lightly.

" Where the love light gleams...." she said as George grinned.

" I'll be home for Christmas....." George sang before everyone looked to Hazel, who smiled shyly.

" If only in my....dreams...." she sang softly and sweetly, as her voice slowly disappeared and warm smiles were present on everyone's faces. She slowly looked towards George as he smirked proudly at her and she grinned. 

Then she met Liebgott's eyes, and she felt her heart warm. His eyes were on her, softly watching her every move, gaze steady, his face so full of life. She blushed and looked away from him as George celebrated her standing up there and singing with a hyper good job. 

Even that had warmed her heart and made it full, just singing with the men she adored. These songs made her homesick because here she was in Belgium and her mother was on the opposite side of the world, waking up on Christmas morning with only Daisy. She couldn't be with her mother on the day of the year that sometimes hurt the most. Next year though, Hazel wanted to be home for Christmas, in America, and not in the middle of this war torn country. She wanted to be home. 

George slowly stepped past her as Bill caught him up in a joyful hug, and Hazel caught Joe's eye again. She blushed, quirking out a tiny smirk as she slowly walked over to him and sat down by his side.

" You didn't tell me you could sing, Parker." he said softly, his knee nudging hers. 

" I've never really sung before, I mean, it's just like, I don't know..." she said blushing again. That was the first time she had really sung, even a bit out of tune and silly, it brought her heart joy.

" You sounded good," Joe said as Hazel giggled shaking her head.

" Thanks, Joe." she said softly, brushing hair from her cheeks as she watched his eyes glow even in the darkness. Joe watched her, and she suddenly felt nervous under his gaze and looked away, giggling softly.

" What?" he said, a laugh in his tone, as he nudged her knee again, " What are you laughing at?" Her laugh was contagious. 

" I don't know, just everything, it's all so calm, I just wish it could last like this forever." she said and Joe felt his heart swell watching her eyes shine. He wanted this to last forever too.

" Sleigh bells ring, are you listening..." George sang joyfully, wrapping his arm around Bill's shoulder, before poking Bill's ear. Bill swatted at his hand as George chuckled. 

" In the lane snow is glistening, a beautiful sight we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland..." Bill sang and George gave a whoop. Hazel laughed lightly before looking back at Joe.

" What?" she said softly, reaching forward to tilt his helmet up from his dark eyes. 

" Happy looks good on you." he said with a small smile. Hazel blushed and thanked God for the darkness that night provided. Thank God for the darkness.

" Joe..." she whispered.

" I'm serious, you've been through a lot, and seeing you happy, it's a nice sight to see." he whispered softly to her. Hazel let out a tiny giggle, looking down at her hands, before looking back up at Joe. 

He was smiling. 

On December 26th General Patton had broken through the German line. Hazel had been freezing her tail bone off next to Shifty as they sat outside the foxhole, when the news broke. After the Christmas singing which had brightened almost the entire Battalion's spirits, it had basically been a snow storm at 0300 and Hazel and Shifty were practically wrapped like a bow, trying to get their tiny bodies warm. 

A tiny body and a tiny body never meshed well especially in the cold. 

It was said that Patton came to the rescue. Hazel had been pissed off by that mere comment, and so had everyone else. 

_Some rescue._

Lizzie sat with Gene in the foxhole, humming the tune to Let it Snow, the only thing to alleviate the pain of not being home with her family. She envisioned her home, decorated beautifully for Christmas, the smell of the food, her grandmother's famous Scottish Christmas cookies that were set on each and every platter and the soft Christmas music that her and Brady would always sing to on the radio. Lizzie hummed gently to herself and looked over at Gene who moved through his medic satchel, hands pale.

" Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow," she sang softly, looking towards Gene who looked towards her, a small laugh leaving his lips. 

" And the fire is slowly dying and my dear we're still good-bying, but as long as you love me so, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..." she sang softly, bobbing her head back and fourth as she did so. Gene smiled softly up at her.

" Missing home?" he asked her softly. Lizzie tended to hum and sing when she did. She nodded, humming gently. 

" Especially the Christmas tree." she whispered softly, her eyes shining as she looked at Gene who watched her, " And the lights, we always went in my dad's car and drove around Grand Rapids, looking at the lights that people put up." Gene smiled. Gene was watching her anxiously tapping against her hand. She did that often now, but she always brushed it off. But she knew it was the disorder, what the special doctor had informed her of back at the hospital in Holland. And she knew Gene was noticing it more often now than ever, but it was simply all her nerves and the inability to focus on anything at once or get sufficient sleep. 

So she continued humming, the gentle tune singing in her head. The girl's gentle humming was comforting enough on that day, the 26th of December and comforting enough for many others. 

By the 27th, Hazel had looked for Liebgott everywhere but she couldn't find him. So she approached the Lieutenant and Staff-Sergeant ahead of her.

" Hey," Hazel said as she walked up to where Catherine and Bill were sifting through some coats that had come in for the men and women. Catherine had been on a run into town with George, and now they had plenty of coats, even more from Patton's 'rescue'. 

" Hey, kid," Bill called.

" Hey," Catherine said turning to the girl," what's up?" 

" Where's Lieb? I couldn't find him anywhere this morning?" Hazel asked her. Hazel usually saw him at breakfast; no one had seen him.

" Oh," Catherine said," Winters had to take him off the line." Hazel's eyes widened.

" What?" Hazel asked.

" Yeah, supposedly Lieb was just consumed by the war, battle fatigue, stuff like that. He was real pissed yesterday about Patton's rescue. Made him a runner, Winters wanted to give him a few days." Catherine explained and Hazel felt her heart sink. 

" Oh." was the only word the left Hazel's mouth. _Joe?_ Her heart hammered inside her chest and she grew slightly discouraged that he wasn't here.

" Don't worry, he'll be back," Catherine said, " just needs a few days to recuperate." Hazel nodded, biting back her lip. _Joe_. 

" You ok, kid?" Bill asked her.

" Yeah, fine," Hazel said nodding, like she was trying to convince herself. Lieb was taken off the line as a runner, what had happened? He seemed fine yesterday. 

" Thanks," Hazel said and walked away, her mind spinning. Joe Liebgott was on her mind the rest of the day. 

Slowly everyone fell into a pattern, now with the so called 'rescue' from Patton. Wake up, make sure you survive a shelling or two that happened throughout the day, get breakfast, see your friends, go on a patrol, get assigned for a night patrol, get your lunch, sit by your foxhole, getting caught up on sleep, avoiding another shelling, praying to God sometimes, get dinner, sit around, go on your night patrol if you have to, and then go to bed. It varied that same way everyday. The veterans of Toccoa, the Viragos and even the veteran replacements from Market Garden were battle hardened it seemed at the moment. It was the newest replacements, that clearly hadn't been through the wear and tare. 

Catherine did rounds though each night to make sure they were settling in ok. She was worried most for them because they were so young, careless and naive it seemed.

" Excuse me, ma'am?" one of the younger ones had asked. Catherine had stooped down next to their foxhole on the night of the 28th. 

" What's up?" Catherine asked him quietly. He glanced back at his foxhole partner and then to Catherine.

" Are we being moved off the line soon?" he asked softly. Catherine bit her lip and slowly sat down by the edge of his foxhole. 

" I don't think so anymore, Ike wants the 101st and 82nd both to stay on the line." Catherine softly. The replacement sighed and Catherine looked at him with a sad smile.

" Try and stay warm and get some rest." Catherine said. The replacement nodded with a small smile.

" Is there extra blankets?" he asked her.

" Yeah, we just got resupplied." she said and pulled the extra blanket she carried around out. She gently handed it to him and he smiled up at her.

" Thank you," he said and then sat back down against his friend, throwing the blanket over both of them and shutting his eyes. Catherine smiled. Catherine continued checking in on the men along the line, just like the rest of the NCOs and Lieutenants and what they were doing. 

On the 29th, Shifty and Hazel were on OP duty, sitting there, freezing their asses off when Shifty slowly lowered his weapon from where he was looking out. He squinted his eyes again and bit his lip carefully, like he always did when he was focused on something.

" What is it, Shift?" she asked him. Shifty adjusted his white helmet, similar to hers, and then looked out again.

" There's a tree out there that wasn't there before." he said eyes still staring forward. Hazel moved in next to him and brought up her scope as Shifty pointed in the general direction. Hazel squinted her eyes and found on the tree he was talking about. He was right.

" I gotta go tell Lip or Dike or someone." Shifty said as he leaned back and shouldered his weapon.

" You'll be good here?" he asked her and she nodded with a small smile.

" I'll be back." he said and climbed up and out of the foxhole. Hazel kept her eye on that tree and watched it closely. It didn't move at all, but Hazel kept watching it. It was very suspicious. When Shifty came back with Lip, the two jumped in the OP next to Hazel. And then Lip got a good look at it, watching it.

" It wasn't there yesterday Lipton." Shifty said as he looked out again. Lip pulled out his binoculars and narrowed his eyes.

" You're right, Shifty." Lipton said and pulled the binoculars from his eyes.

" That wasn't there yesterday," Lip said, " I'll get artillery on it, probably the Germans creating fake trees or something to spy." Shifty smiled looking at Lipton with a nod.

" Good work," Lip said as he put the binoculars away. When Lip climbed out, Hazel looked after him and then looked at Shifty.

" You couldn't find Dike?" Hazel asked him. Shifty shook his head.

" Lip was right there, said he hadn't seen Dike all the day as we walked back here." Shifty explained and Hazel bit her lip. He always disappeared. Shifty and Hazel watched as the artillery strike was called in and the fake tree was blown up. 

It was gone. 

But the day was dull after that, well except for the constant shellings they endured. 

It was numbing though, they were all so used to it by that point. 


	80. the case of the incompetent lieutenant

" A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be."

_\- Rosalynn Carter_

✰✰✰

New Years Eve of 1944 was different. Last year they'd been in Aldbourne and now here they were in this frozen tundra, hoping 1945 would be a better year than 1944, even though a lot of good had come out of the year in the end. Joe Liebgott returned from his job as a runner and Hazel had immediately went searching for her best friend. 

" Joe," she said as she approached him and he turned at the sound of her voice. Joe's eyes were sunken in and his mouth was in a thin line. He didn't light up like he usually did. He remained mellow, eyes downcast, slightly shaking.

" Hey, Tiny," he said rather exhaustedly. 

" You're back," she said, slightly shocked.

" Yeah, I guess they didn't want me fighting with those fucking Krauts." Joe said and Hazel raised a brow.

" What?" she asked softly. Joe looked at her in despair.

" Winters removed me from being a runner, I got too mouthy." Joe said shaking his head. Hazel bit her lip; this war was taking a toll on everyone. 

" Joe-"

" Those Krauts are hurting my people, Hazel. They're hurting your people too." Joe said quietly looking into her eyes, trying to hold back his anger from what Hazel could tell, " They deserved a jab or two from me." Hazel offered a small, sad smile his way. Joe's eyes softened and realized he needed to calm down. Staring at Hazel, really looking at her, even in the dark forest, made him realize his love for her, even if she didn't know. Joe sucked in a shaky breath.

" How you are though, you doing ok?" Joe asked looking at her. Hazel snapped out of her trance, slightly confused.

" I'm okay," she said as Joe looked at her bright red nose.

" Good." Joe said with a small smile, and she smiled. But she knew Joe was frustrated and angry and upset. She slowly placed a hand on his arm and watched his eyes droop.

" You know you can talk to me right?" she whispered softly. Joe looked up towards Hazel and looked at her eyes which were shining like stars themselves.

" I can't even describe my hatred, I just, I feel it, it deep down." Joe said softly watching her.

" It's okay to feel that, I feel it too," she said softly rubbing his arm," your emotions, they're important, it's okay to feel that way." 

God, Hazel made him so happy, even with just a sentence like that.

" I don't think I've told you thank you enough," Joe said glancing at her. She quirked an innocent brow.

" Just, you're always there for me and my bullshit," Joe said shrugging as she smiled.

" And you're there for mine." she said with a toothy smile from under the brim of her helmet. Joe's heart warmed. They'd be okay for the day. They all would be. 

Hazel worried about him the rest of the day, but she didn't tell a soul that. 

Joe Toye got taken off the line, thanks to a German sniper that dinged him in the arm. Hazel had been the one to find him wandering through the woods, a bit aimlessly, and decided to get him to Gene to be taken back to an aid station. 

That night Hazel was walking around through the foxholes, as she heard the men's quiet chatter filling the air. She stopped by Bull's foxhole that he shared with a replacement and gave him a warm hug, wishing him a happy New Year, even though that was hours away. Hazel did that to many of the Easy Company men and women. She was thankful for each and every one of them. So when the little hand on her watch reached 12, she let out a sigh. 1945 arrived and it felt no different from 1944, she hoped that changed soon. 

In the darkness of the night, the men and women went around, shaking hands with each other, hugging each other, giving kisses on the cheeks, mostly the men getting it from the girls. Hazel got hugs from all of the NCOs, and Lip and even a few Lieutenants. Even though Peacock was a little lost at the leadership spot, she still gave him a warm hug when he came around. She got a few kisses on the cheek, but she just smiled, and let her cheeks warm up, mildly embarrassed. 

On January 1st, nothing felt remotely changed from 1944. They got up and worked through the normal onslaught of the cold, and dealt with it really. However, on January 2nd, they were moving back towards their old position. Since they had moved from their previous one a day after Christmas, they had to move back, mostly on Sink's orders, on pushing the Germans back through the Bugle. Catherine was standing right behind Buck and Lip, her eyes watching the map they had on Malarkey's head. 

Convenient right? 

Bill and her were helping 2nd platoon out, greatly, especially with all the added replacements, and Lip was going through the map layout where they'd come from.

" We were here this morning and then we came this way." Lip explained as his finger followed a road on the map. Catherine bent down only a bit to see clearer.

" Right, so, right here's gotta be the logging road," Buck stated, pointing to two areas, " coming into here..."

" Yes, sir." Lip said.

" Which means we get right there." Buck said and jabbed at the map on Malarkey's head.

" Hey, take it easy!" Malarkey called to them as Catherine smirked. 

" Stop crying, Malark, or I'll nail it to your head." Buck said and Catherine snickered to herself.

" Hey, you should, it's made of wood." Bill commented, and Catherine smirked, shaking her head as she glanced towards Skip and Penkala who were hanging around. 

" Guarnere, move 'em out, let's go." Buck said, and Catherine glanced back towards 2nd Platoon. 

" Yes, sir." Bill answered as he stood to his feet. 

" 2nd platoon, let's go!" Bill called, as Catherine motioned her arm back and forth to show a stand up maneuver. As they moved on the 1,000 yard walk through the woods near Foy, Catherine felt her heart racing. They could be hit by anything at this very moment as they moved through. And even though it was just the woods, they knew attacking Foy would come soon, but they weren't sure how soon. It could be in the next week, or in a few days, or maybe a whole other month. You never knew. 

As they walked, there was a few cases where there was sporadic German machine-gun fire, but everyone managed to stay somewhat calm, there was only a few minor injuries that were quickly taken care of so the company could focus on the march through the woods. 

So when the company finally reached where they would be setting up their foxholes, Catherine had to let out a sigh of relief that there was no major fire on them and no major casualties that came from it. Catherine and Bill began supervising, making sure foxholes were dug and built, and in the same time Hoobler was walking around with his Luger that he had wanted since Normandy. 

Supposedly, he'd shot the German off a horse and gotten it. Hoobler had come up to the two as they were talking, showing off the Luger that was now in his hands, letting the dim light hit it and showing it off in all its glory. It was fairly impressive. 

Hazel and Shifty remained foxhole partners, they'd done it for so long, they didn't even need to say words when they started digging together. But they were both fairly tiny, so Lip decided to give them a hand and they were grateful. And then Hoobler came by with Hashey and Hazel caught the Luger than he doned in his gloved hands.

" What's that, Hoobs?" she asked quietly, as she tried catching her breath for shoveling dirt out of the pit.

" A Luger, something I've always wanted." he said with a smirk and cocked it to show it worked. Hazel nodded with a smile and began digging again.

" How'd you come upon it?" Shifty asked.

" Hashey and I were with Christenson, checking out the edge of the line and some German comes riding through on a horse. So I pulled up my gun, and down he goes right out of the saddle, like a sack of potatoes. Outstanding accuracy on my part, if I do say so myself." Hoobler said.

" Which you do." Lip said as he stopped shoveling for a moment. 

" Which I do," Hoobler said, " Hell, Shifty, Tiny, I think maybe I could have even given you two a run for your money, right?" Hazel and Shifty glanced at each other out of breath and Shifty cleared his throat.

" No, no, I'm not a good shot. Now, Dad, he was an excellent shot. Excellent, I declare, he'd shoot the wings off a fly." Shifty said and Hazel smiled as Hoobler looked to her. 

" I'm not that great," she countered, " it's just my job."

" Hey, Lip, that German, what'd you think he was doing?" Hoobler asked Lip. 

" Probably a little recon." Lip said as he staked his shovel, " He must have figured nobody would hear a horse."

" I think he was just trying to get the hell out of dodge." Hashey commented.

" Yeah." Hoobler said.

" What happened to the horse?" Shifty asked and Hazel turned, curious as well, hopeful eyes. 

" I don't know, probably still running." Hoobler said and worry struck Hazel.

" Hope he's ok." Shifty said and Hazel nodded in agreement.

" Me too, hopefully someone takes care of him." Hazel said as she let out an exhausted sigh, shoveling out more dirt.

" You dug in?" Lip asked the two. 

" Yeah, yeah." Hoobler said, " Yeah, just thought I'd take a walk, shoot the shit."

" Well, you're a good shot, Hoob." Lip said, " Just glad you're on our side."

" Thanks, Lip." Hoobler answered with a smile as the two turned and walked away. Hazel smiled to herself as she sat next to Shifty actually feeling warm and sweaty a bit and exhausted even in the cold tundra.

" Hey, Lipton?' Shifty said as Hazel glanced towards him. 

" Yeah." Lip said, straining to lift dirt out of the pit.

" Thanks for the help." Shifty said as Hazel and him smiled up at Lipton who turned to smile at the two.

" You got it, you two." Lip said before turning and going in to dig again.

" Hey, Lip, you got a sec?" a voice called and Hazel glanced up as she speared her weapon on the ground again. It was Buck, with Malarkey behind him. She waved at Malarkey as he smiled back at her. 

" Yes." Lip answered, " Yes, sir." Malarkey threw a pack of cigarettes to Shifty who caught them with ease as Malarkey gave a wink to Hazel who smiled and glanced at Shifty.

" Give them a hand." Lip said to Malarkey who took the shovel and jumped down into the pit with them. But they were all listening in on the conversation Lip was about to have with Buck. 

" Where's Dike?" Buck asked Lip as Hazel and Shifty moved around the foxhole a bit to give Malarkey more room. Hazel glanced at Malarkey with a raised brow. He was still missing?

" He's uh, he's around." Lip said.

" Could you be a little more specific there, Sergeant?" Buck asked him.

" Not really, sir." Lip answered. 

" Goddammit, I haven't seen him all day. I didn't see him when we were coming through the woods, and I have to figure out how we ended up." Buck said.

" Well, two wounded. Lieutenant McCown is doing the report supposedly." Lip said.

" Who?" Buck asked.

" Brown and Stevenson." Lip answered. 

" Goddamnit." Buck said, as Hazel glanced up at them.

" And where's Dike, where the hell is he?" Buck said, " Where the hell does he ever go?"

" I don't know, but I wish he'd stay the hell there." Malarkey said.

" It'd be nice if he took Lieutenant Shames with him, too." Shifty said and Hazel snickered.

" Shut up, boys." Lip told them, and Hazel smirked at them, as Shifty placed the cigarette to his lips.

" Shutting up, Sarge." Malarkey said. Suddenly, a single shot went off in the distance and Hazel felt herself grab her weapon and squeeze in between Shifty and Lip to look out in the distance. 

" Oh, hey, what the hell is that?" someone yelled.

" Patrol?" Malarkey called. 

" No, we would have heard." Lip said.

" One man, maybe a sniper." Buck said.

" No," Hazel said, she knew the sound of a sniper, that wasn't it.

" That was no rifle." Shifty said. 

" What do you see, Shift? Hazel?" Lip asked the two.

" Nobody out there." Shifty said as Hazel adjusted her scope a bit. No one.

" Are you sure?" Buck asked.

" Yep." Hazel answered," Nobody's there." 

" Ah, Jesus, it's Hoob, he's shot." a voice yelled.

" Sniper?" somebody yelled, as Hazel sat back from her weapon and glanced towards where the yell came from, her heart racing, as the 5 of them in the foxhole sat quiet.

" No, no, he shot himself!" it was Hashey yelling.

" Stay here!" Lip yelled at Malarkey, Shifty and Hazel, before him and Buck jumped up and out of the foxhole. Hazel watched as the two ran away, her heart pounding. She glanced back towards Shifty and then Malarkey.

" He'll be ok, right?" Hazel whispered, as she turned and let her back hit the frozen dirt wall.

" I don't know." Malarkey said looking toward where the shot had come from biting his lip before putting the cigarette back on his lip. Hazel glanced at Shifty before looking back out towards where the yelling and commotion was coming from.

" It'll be ok, Hazel." Shifty said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Hazel glanced at Shifty worriedly and nodded, leaning into his touch, keeping her ears alert for yelling. 

Gene had been giving Lizzie penicillin, he'd finally gotten his hands on some. The two rather frustrated and overwhelmed medics were sitting in the foxhole, their hot-headed personalities, creating just an uptick of heat, to the point where Lizzie felt it were more than just the fever heat she had. He injected it into her, and then that's when the call for a medic came. Gene looked at Lizzie.

" Can you finish injecting this?" he asked her, as he began pulling on his bag.

" Yeah, go." Lizzie said and Gene jumped up and out of the foxhole. Lizzie watched as the rest of the penicillin drained into her body. She was sicker than what she thought sick could get, and she knew it wouldn't go away any sooner without consistent penicillin dosages. 

When Catherine arrived at the CP, Lip was already inside, giving the report on Hoobler to Winters and Nixon. Hoobler had shot himself with the Luger, an honest mistake, but it had cost him his life. 

The first of many.

" Well, I'm gonna go back and make sure the boys and girls are all dug in, sir." Lip said and turned in time to see Catherine walking into the aid station with a small, sad smile. He gave a smile to her as he put on his helmet as she walked in.

" Lip." a voice said and Lip turned as Catherine looked towards Winters.

" Where's Dike?" Winters asked him as he shivered. 

" You wanna see him, sir?" Lip asked.

" No, I just would have expected to get this kind of news from him." Winters said, as Catherine glanced at Nixon who sipped his drink.

" Well, I was there, sir." Lip said.

" Oh," Winters said quietly.

" I figured it might as well be me." Lip said and then nodded and turned and left. Winters and Nixon shared a look as Lip walked away and Catherine watched Lip walk.

" He's nowhere." Catherine said, looking at the two with a slight glare, thinking of Dike.

" I went out, all the way to Dog, and then to Fox, asked them both, neither of their CO's have seen him even. One of Fox's Lieutenants saw a man wandering through not too long ago. Probably back up to Regiment." Catherine huffed out as she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed to herself. Winters glanced up at her.

" Thanks, Catherine." Winters said and she nodded.

" You wanna start on those reports?" Nixon asked her and Catherine nodded sitting at the tiny wooden desk available. Catherine worked through the multiple reports she had to write, on the geography of the land, the maps, some of the casualties, things like that. But then Peacock appeared in the doorway.

" Catherine." he said as she turned, making Winters and Nixon turn as well.

" What?" she asked him with a raised brow.

" Dike's back, wants to talk to us all." he said and Catherine looked at Winters and Nixon, before closing the pen cap she was writing with and standing up. She grabbed her weapon, not like she ever needed it, and binoculars and followed Peacock out.

" What do you mean 'Dike's back'?" Catherine asked him as she adjusted her helmet.

" I was digging the foxhole and he scares the shit out of me as I'm standing there. Starts with the 'Peacock! Get the other Lieutenants.' and then walks off." Peacock told her and Catherine let out a sigh.

" Did he say where he was?" Catherine asked him.

" No," Peacock muttered, " he never does."

" Ah, Lieutenant Peacock, Lieutenant McCown, thank you for showing up. Was wondering where you wandered off too." Dike said as they approached where Buck, Lip, Foley and Shames stood. 

" You told me to get the other Lieutenants, sir." Peacock said.

" Oh..." Dike said, as Catherine raised a brow, " right." Catherine let out a low sigh, she had absolutely no filter. Catherine stood beside Peacock and Shames, arms crossed over her chest, as she listened to what Dike would propose. She was the shortest evident with her helmet that came a little above Lip's shoulders. 

But she had a spitfire of the Titans inside her.

" And I want tight security around the Company CP, Lieutenant Shames, that understood?" Dike said and Shames nodded next to her. 

" Now, Battalion S-3 is planning a move so, I will probably be called away....regularly." Dike said and Catherine raised a confused brow.

" Are there any questions?" Dike asked and Catherine had to bit her lip back.

" Uh, yeah." Buck said just a smidge bit sarcastically.

" Um, what's the formation you want us to go for?" Buck asked him. 

" At present, as per usual, but I'll clarify that with you at a later time, Lieutenant Compton." Dike said.

" Yes, sir." Buck said. Then Dike yawned and Catherine felt her eyebrows raise. 

" Um, sir," Catherine spoke up. Dike looked at her confused.

" What do you want me to do with all the reports you had me write, sir?" she asked him. Dike stared at her confused. The other Lieutenants were standing around her, waiting Dike's answer as Foley glanced at Catherine. Catherine waited as Dike looked at her.

" Give them to Captain Winters, he'll know what to do." Dike told her.

" I'm sorry, sir, but Captain Winters told me to give them to you." Catherine said, and Dike went quiet. She stared at him, coldly. 

" Keep them for now," Dike told her, " we'll deal with it, later."

" But, sir, the reports have to get up to Division." Catherine urged on.

" Lieutenant, just keep them." Dike told her as Catherine shut her mouth as Buck sent her a glance.

" Yes, sir." Catherine said and then looked down.

" Alright, I gotta make a call." Dike said and then walked forward pushing through Lip and Buck. The group of Lieutenants and Lip watched him walk away.

" Keep them where?" muttered Catherine shaking her head as Foley stood by her side. The group of Lieutenants huddled in a circle together.

" What does he expect me to do with a mound of fucking papers in the snow, huh? They touch ice that ink is gone. I work my ass off to make sure they get done." Catherine snapped as Lip glanced at her.

" Winters told you to give them to Dike?" Lip asked her and she nodded. Lip raised a brow, confused.

" Why would he say that?" Shames questioned her.

" Probably because Dike goes up to Division every fucking day." Catherine muttered, as she reached for a cigarette, something she hadn't touched in a while. The cold was too numbing. The group of Lieutenants laughed at her comment.

" Let's get moving," Buck said.

" What the fuck does he expect from me?" Catherine muttered to Peacock and Foley as the trio walked towards the men.

" I don't get it, he goes up to Division all the damn time and then comes back with nothing new to tell us. Probably getting so shit faced up there." grumbled Foley shaking his head.

" Dike's always at Division." muttered Peacock as Catherine shook her head. 

" One day, Division's gonna realize that the guy just isn't cut out for combat. I mean c'mon, we went through Sobel, Winters, and Moose, and even though Sobel was a dick and couldn't really lead a group, he still prepared us. And I wouldn't have traded Winters for the world. Or Moose, except for the fact the sentry shot him, but that's besides the point. This guy was just sent here for some experience." Catherine spat, " He's not even getting it."

" It seems were just an annoyance." Foley muttered, shaking his head.

" Oh, yeah, most definitely." Catherine said, shaking her head sarcastically.

" What does he even expect from you, Mack, I mean, you aren't with the company all the time, and so he doesn't tell you everything you need to do. If I were him, I'd make sure to stop by the CP regularly to make sure you're kept up to date." Foley told her.

" You think he'd do that." Catherine muttered, shaking her head," The only thing that guy can do, is ruin my faith in humanity." The two other Lieutenants chuckled.

" You know he's doing some dick sucking up at Division." Catherine said.

" Most definitely, why else would he keep going back?" Foley said as the trio chuckled.

" Well, wish me luck, boys. I'm going to go finish that report I need to give to Winters." she said and faked a cocky salute before turning and heading to Division. 

All the Lieutenants enjoyed having Catherine up in their position with them.

Even though she wasn't exactly a Lieutenant who led a platoon, she worked closely with Battalion and Nixon, and always had some sarcastic comment to jab out and throw at Dike.

It made everything easier to cope with for them. 


	81. keeping warm

" Integrity is doing the right thing. Even when no one is watching."

_\- C. S. Lewis_

✰✰✰

" I'm telling you boys, we're screwed." Bill muttered as Catherine crouched by his side that night. 

" If you ask me, I'm glad Lieutenant Dike's never around." Penkala said.

" Hey you know what? We're doing alright. Even with Foxhole Norman." Malarkey said and Catherine snickered to herself. 

" How alright you talk, Malark?" Catherine asked with a smirk as she crossed her arms tighter over her chest. 

" Yeah, Don, we're doing alright. We're doing alright now. In case you ain't noticed there's a little town down the hill over there, right? And in that town are these guys, and these guys are called Germans. And these Germans got tanks." Bill said.

" I know," Malarkey said. 

" Yeah." Bill said a little pissed. Everyone seemed pissed though with anything at this point.

" And our side's gonna wanna go into that town. You wanna take one guess at who they're gonna want to go knocking on the goddamn doors." Bill said, exaggerating with knocking his hand on a fake door. 

" I know, Bill, alright, it's me you're talking to here." Malarkey said, looking up at Bill. 

" Yeah, c'mon, Bill, not like it's Cobb or some replacement." muttered Catherine.

" Jesus Christ, we've gotta do all this was a CO, who's got his head so far up his fucking ass that lump in his throat is his goddamn nose." Bill spat. Penkala smirked a bit.

" Yeah, well, told Frances today some bullshit about her report, she can't get one order from his without saying something else on his mind." grumbled Catherine and Bill hmphed to himself.

" Hey, 1st Sergeant." Skip suddenly said and the group turned and saw it was Lip coming towards them and a smile lit up Catherine's face.

" Hey, boys. Hey, Catherine." he said as he approached.

" Hey, Sarge." Penkala said.

" Hey, Lip," Bill said as Lip stood next to where Catherine sat.

" Hey, Muck, what's the word?" Lip asked him. 

" Oh, you know. Sitting around freezing our ass off. Singing Dike's praises." Skip said a bit sarcastically as Lip crossed his arms over his chest and nodded.

" Oh, yeah." Lip said, " Lieutenant Dike." Catherine glanced at Skip and then bit her lip.

" Well, I'll tell you," Lip said as he took a seat next to Catherine and she glanced over at him. 

" I wouldn't wanna be a replacement officer coming in here, getting thrown in with a group of guys and ladies, who've known each other for what? 2 years?" Lip said and Catherine bit her lip again.

" That have been in combat together since Normandy. You're supposed to just show up and lead them? How's a guy do that? How could anyone really hope to gain the respect of the toughest, most professional, most dedicated sons of bitches in the entire ETO?" Lip said, looking at the group, " Huh?" She saw a smirk growing on Bill's face. 

" So, if you ask me, a guy'd have to march off to Berlin and come back with Hitler's mustache or something." Lip said, and both Bill and Catherine started laughing from next to Lip.

" Anyway, listen," Lip said, as the group looked back up at him, " you guys, don't worry about Dike, alright?"

" Yeah." Malarkey said and the group nodded in agreement.

" We all do our jobs, everything'll be fine." Lip said nodding to them. Catherine nodded with a small, cold smile, as Lip gently patted her shoulder. She nodded. Then Lip stood and turned, throwing his weapon over his shoulder again.

" See you, Sarge." Skip called to him. 

" Yeah, boy." Lip answered. Catherine smiled and then looked at the group.

" I'll start on rounds, Bill." Catherine said quietly, before looking at the group.

" Bye guys." she said, standing and putting her Thompson over her shoulder.

" Bye, Mack."

" See ya around, Mack." Catherine waved and retreated away, starting in on checking in on the men and women. Catherine checked in on Hazel and Shifty, who were working on putting some of the shrubs from the trees on top of the tarp to hide it. Hazel had a tiny smile on her face, from what was visible to Catherine and that's all that mattered. Her nose was a little red, and still bright against the back drop but so was Shifty's. They really were the most innocent of the group.

" Hey you two." Catherine said as she crouched by the edge of the foxhole watching as the two turned in their spots, innocent smiles on both of their faces. 

" Catherine!" they cheered almost at the same time, before looking at each other and laughing. Catherine smiled softly.

" You two staying warm?" she asked. 

" With our two tiny bodies together? Best we can." Shifty said wrapping an arm over Hazel's shoulder as Hazel laughed. Catherine laughed lightly.

" Have ya seen Dike yet today?" Hazel asked Catherine. Catherine rolled out her eyes.

" Seen as in, a 5 minute conversation before he supposedly had been 'called' away. He started telling me off too." Catherine grumbled. Shifty and Hazel glanced at each other before looking up at Catherine.

" About what?" Shifty asked her.

" The reports I have to do, stuff like that," Catherine said shaking her head, " Bill's been calling it bullshit since 1944." Hazel and Shifty laughed as Catherine smirked softly shaking her head.

" Sounds like." Hazel said and Catherine smiled. 

" I leave you two to it then, I have to check on Lizzie. She's not feeling too great even with that penicillin." Catherine said.

" Aw." Hazel said, frowning. Catherine sighed, rubbing her eyes.

" Yeah, I've just been checking in on her, making sure she's okay." Catherine said and the two sharpshooters smiled fondly.

" I hope she's okay," Shifty said with a small smile.

" She'll be fine, I'm just hoping that whenever she can rest she can, Gene's been telling her to." Catherine said and their smiles softened, " I'll see you two later."

" Bye Mack!"

" See ya Cath!" When Catherine found Lizzie, she was curled up in George's side, in a foxhole with Skip and Penkala. Her face was flushed with fever, and she was attempting to rest against him for warmth, as her medic brassard was the only thing she saw along with the grey snow covered helmet when she approached them. When Catherine crouched down slowly by the side of the foxhole they all turned to her, except Lizzie. She was definitely asleep.

" Hey, Sarge." Skip called to her with a smile. 

" Sarge, we just saw ya." Penkala said.

" Hey, Mack." George said with a bright smile.

" Hey, she doing ok?" Catherine asked softly, as all eyes looked to Lizzie, curled up trying to stay warm.

" She passed out not too long ago, sounds like she's got this nasty cough." George told her. Catherine sighed. 

" Keep her warm," Catherine said and George nodded.

" What about you, Sarge, you gotta stay warm too." Skip told her.

" Yeah, yeah, just making my rounds." she said.

" Yeah, well, Buck already did that. Sounds like a crazy man though." Skip told her and Catherine raised a brow.

" You realize he seems so serious now with everything?" Penkala asked her.

" Other day, I'm walking, comes up scares the shit out of me. Called it 'preparing me for anything'," George told her and Catherine raised a brow, confused. 

" Ever since he's come back, he's been a little off, but I guess I didn't know like that." she said.

" Yeah, he's just real serious, nothing really pending." Skip said, " We all thought it was weird when he told us to do nothing stupid." Catherine smirked.

" We jumped out of perfectly good airplanes." Penkala said.

" Who could be stupider." George said earning some laughs. 

" Right, well, stay warm, keep her warm more importantly. I'll see you all around." Catherine said and smiled at the group before leaving. Catherine continued through the foxholes. Tab met her half way through and told her just to report to Lip and tell him everyone was getting settled.

" You sure, Tab?" Catherine asked him.

" Yeah, it's getting colder at night anyway, I'll check the rest of the men." he told her and squeezed her shoulder before turning and crouching down by a foxhole. Catherine sighed and turned and started towards Lip. 

As she approached, she saw him with the Luger in his hands and Lieutenant Dike next to him, above him by his foxhole. Catherine hadn't seen Dike all day. What made this so different? Why did he just show unannounced and then leave again? Catherine waited until Dike left to approach Lip.

" Hey, Lip." Catherine said as Lip looked up at her approaching figure.

" Hey, Mack, what's up?" he asked her as he placed the Luger by his side and looked up at her from his foxhole. She could see the pain in his eyes that he so desperately was trying to hide. She felt bad; he always seemingly had to cover for Dike. She hated that he had to do that.

" The men are all getting settled now, most of them are almost done fortifying their foxholes." she said to him and Lip nodded. 

" Thank you," he told her and she smiled. She then bit her lip.

" Um, Lip?" she asked him, as she shivered and crouched by the edge of his foxhole. He looked at her questioningly. 

" Dike? Is he just...?"

" It's the first time I saw him all day." Lip told her, " Remember what I said, don't worry about him, I can do that. Worry about the men and women. I trust you." Catherine nodded, biting her lip again. 

" Right, I'll see you tomorrow." she said with a small smile.

" See ya, Mack." he said as she stood and walked away towards her foxhole. 

The next morning, was bland and boring it seemed. Catherine had opened her eyes, and looked up and saw light peeking through the shrubs her and Peacock had put on top of their foxhole. She slowly got up and Peacock got moving too.

" Aw, fuck." Catherine said as she put her helmet on her head.

" What?" Peacock asked her.

" I gotta go to Battalion CP. Remember that report?" she asked him.

" Yeah, what about it?" Peacock asked her as he put his own helmet on his head.

" Well, I finished it late last night, that's why I woke you up at 0030. And so I have to convince Winters that it's his now to give to Division, even though Dike's up there everyday." Catherine said.

" Oh, boy, good luck with that," Peacock said as the two crawled out into the cold morning. 

" Yeah, we'll see what happens." she said with a smile before turning and heading towards CP. She found Winters shaving, the man was always keeping clean, mostly for the men, partly for himself. he wanted to show them that even in war, you needed to groom yourself a bit. 

" Hey, Dick." Catherine called as she entered the CP. Winters looked at her with shaving cream on his face, razor on his cheek.

" What?" he asked her.

" Remember that report you told me to give to Dike?" she asked him.

" Yeah, what about?"

" He told me to give it to you." Catherine said. Winters sighed to himself, and went back to shaving.

" He's up at Division everyday, I don't see why he can't just take it." Winters muttered and Catherine chuckled a bit. 

" Morning," a voice said and both Winters and Catherine looked over to see it was Nixon.

" Lew, eviction notice?" Winters asked him, and Catherine spotted the note in his hand. 

" Not quite," Nixon said as he entered the tiny CP, " but I think I got something that will help you with your leadership problem."

" Oh, Dike's being transferred?" Winters asked him and Catherine had to chuckle. 

" No, I can't help you with that, but Division has decided to pluck one officer from each Regiment that served in the heroic defense of Bastogne. Send him or her back to the states on a 30-day furlough. Get him out banging the drum for the war bond drive, that kind of thing." Nixon said, opening the paper and holding it out to Winters. Winters took the paper as he began wiping off his face and began looking at it.

" It turns out I've been plucked." Nixon said and Catherine's eyes widened, as she looked up at him.

" You serious?" she asked him, and Nixon nodded with a smirk.

" Hey, that's fantastic, Lew, good for you." Winters said as Nixon smiled.

" Thank you," Nixon said brightly. Catherine raised a brow.

" How in the world does your leaving help me?" Winters asked him.

" Yeah, the fuck we supposed to do now?" Catherine muttered, pulling a cigarette from her pocket.

" It doesn't, I'm not going." Nixon said as Catherine's eyes widened further. 

" I've already seen the states, I grew up there. That's why I came to Europe. Just wish they'd tole me there was a war on." Nixon said and Catherine chuckled, lighting up her cigarette.

" Anyway, the point is, this thing's wasted on me. But I'm sure we can find an officer somewhere in this Battalion who could use a long trip home." Nixon said and Catherine raised a brow. She knew who he was talking about. 

News broke that Peacock was heading out on the 30 day furlough. Catherine was a little upset, sure Peacock wasn't the brightest or most brilliant on the field, but she considered him her friend; they'd been sharing a foxhole since the beginning of them reaching Bastogne anyway.

" Congratulations, Lieutenant Peacock." Bull told him, " I can't think of anybody who deserves this more." 

" Thanks," Peacock said, shaking his hand.

" I'm really glad that you're going home." George said, patting the Lieutenant on the shoulder as Hazel looked up at him with a small smile.

" Good luck, sir." Hazel said with a small smile and Peacock smiled at her.

" Best news I've heard in weeks." Christenson said as agreement rung about, " Hell of a guy, hell of a guy." 

" Thanks, guys, I mean. It really means a lot, you know?" Peacock said.

" Oh, get out of here." Bull said, patting his shoulder, as the group let out laughs. 

" Three cheers for Lieutenant Peacock, group." someone called.

" Hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray!" the group called. The group dispersed with chuckles and Hazel gave the man one last tight hug, before following after Christenson a smile on her face. She was sad to see him go, even though he'd be back in a month. He had always respected the women of the company, and even if he was a bit lost in the field, she knew that many of the men were happy he'd be gone. Many didn't like him because he could barely lead, she figured that's why they seemed as happy as they did. It made her laugh a bit. Catherine watched them go and walked up to Peacock.

" Well," she said and Peacock looked at her, smiling, " I guess I'll see you in about 30 days times."

" Yeah, you will." he said. Catherine pulled him in for a hug, and gently patted his back.

" I'll see you, Tom." she said waving to him, as she smiled and headed for the CP. That's when the cameras came around. Lizzie avoided cameras like the plague, keeping her head down, arms crossed, eyes averted from anything that flashed bright. She walked right into someone because of it. She looked up and her eyes widened when she realized it as Joe Toye, back from the aid station. He had a wrap around his arm, and a small smile on his face.

" Hey, Lizzie." he said as she looked up at him shivering.

" Joe." she said, with a small, tired smile on her face.

" How're you feeling?" he asked her, as he wrapped his good arm over her shoulder. 

" Terrible, but I should be asking you that." she said to him and he laughed.

" Smile!" the two froze and saw the camera in their face. Joe tensed up. Lizzie looked down, the flash going off just as her face looked down. 

" I'll see you around, Lizzie, I'll take care of this." he said and Lizzie slowly stepped back and watched as Joe started in on the camera men. She smiled weakly before turning and walking away. 

Catherine stood with Bill at the food line, holding her tin and laughing at something he said, but then something caught her eye. She looked over to her left a bit and saw Joe Toye walking towards them and she felt her eyes widen and her cheeks warm up at the sight.

" Look who it is!" she called as Bill turned and the two saw Joe coming towards them with a smirk on his face. Catherine smirked at him as he approached.

" Hey, Joe." Bill said, as the two shook hands.

" Hey, Bill." Joe said with a smile on his face. 

" Good to see you, Pal." Bill told him.

" You, too." Joe answered as Bill looked at him.

" What the hell you doing back here?" Bill asked him with a smile on his face.

" I had to make sure you were on top of things."

" I'm on top of things. Tied me own boots once last week." Bill said and Catherine smirked, as Joe laughed, " All by me-self."

" Yeah, right." she muttered as Bill snickered.

" Hey, fellas, look who I found." Bill called, putting a hand on Joe's shoulder to lead him toward the center of the line where familiar faces were.

" Hey, Joe Toye, back for more!" Skip called out as Joe smiled. 

" How are you, Joe?" Penkala asked shaking his hand.

" Yeah, doing pretty good." Joe answered as the 3 of them moved in the line, " Escaped from the aid station." Catherine smirked to herself. 

" Where'd you get hit?" a voice asked and the group looked over to see it was Webb, one of the young, plucky replacements.

" What's that?" Joe asked, pointing his tin towards the guy. 

" Ah, it's Webb," Skip said, " Replacement."

" Really," Joe muttered, " thought it was some guy I've known for two years and I forgot his face." Skip chuckled at his comment as Catherine smirked again.

" Joe got hit in the arm. New Year's Eve gift from the Luftwaffe." Penkala explained.

" A lot of your guys been injured?" the replacement asked and Catherine laughed out loud, earning a weird look from the replacement. 

" It's called wounded, Peanut." Johnny said to him, " Injured's when you fall out of a tree or something."

" Yeah, like your leg twisting out of its socket." Catherine told him, as his eyes widened and she nodded, " Oh yeah, that was me, age 6." Webb nodded to her slightly scared. Bill chuckled.

" Don't worry there's enough crap flying around here, you're bound to get dined sometime. Almost every single one of these guys and ladies has been hit at least once." Skip told him as they walked forward.

" Except for Alley, he's a two-timer." Skip said, pointing at the man leaned up and eating against a tree, " He landed on broken glass in Normandy, and got peppered by a potato masher in Holland." 

" You'll find out, son." Alley called to him.

" Now, Bull, he got a piece of exploding tank in Holland." Skip pointed out," And George Luz here...has never been hit. You're one lucky bastard."

" Takes one to know one, Skip." George answered to him.

" Ah, consider us blessed." Skip said, as Webb looked at him. 

" And, Hazel over there, Tiny, if you will," Skip said pointing towards where Hazel sat next to Liebgott eating her fill, " sick all through Holland, with shrapnel in her wrist." Webb's eyes widened as Hazel smiled.

" Now, Liebgott, the skinny little guy, he got pinked in the neck in Holland." Skip said as LIebgott smirked, " And right next to him that other skinny little guy, that's Popeye. He got shot in his scrawny little butt in Normandy."

" And Buck got shot in his rather large butt in Holland." Malarkey said as Buck pointed to his butt, and a few laughs rang out.

" Yeah, kind of an Easy Company tradition, getting shot in the ass." Penkala said. 

" Well then you have Catherine," Malarkey said pointing to where the woman now stood with Chuck, " Dropped into Normandy and landed so hard it shattered her entire should blade, second she got back into combat she shot the head of half the Germans we encountered." Catherine nodded with a smirk to Webb, who's eyes widened.

" You got some pretty tough women in the company," Webb said.

" Of course," Penkala said, patting his shoulder, " the best around."

" Hey even 1st Sergeant Lipton over there," Skip said pointing to the man beside Bill," he got a couple of pieces of tank shell burst at Carentan. One chunk in the face. Another chunk almost took out his nuts." Webb laughed.

" How are those nuts, Sarge?" Bill asked Lip.

" Doing fine, Bill." Lip said, a bit embarrassed, " Nice of you to ask."


	82. agony

" Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes."

_\- George Orwell_

✰✰✰

After their meal, Easy had to move back to their old positions. And of course, they'd just dug out new foxholes, but they had to push the Germans back through the forest. 

Hazel pulled her sniper over her shoulder, as she rubbed at her numb nose, that was constantly running from the cold. She followed in line after Luz who had his radio strapped to his back towards their old position and old foxholes. As they walked away, they saw a few members of Easy Company, strung on the ends, attached to that of Dog Company. When Hazel walked past them, she gave a small smile their way, towards Webb, Christenson and Perconte, before turning and following after Luz again. Her feet felt frozen as she walked, and her entire body was numb to the biting cold that moved through her uniform. She heard the men behind her saying things, to not drink too much, or be careful if he offers you a cigarette. 

Hazel knew they were all talking about Lieutenant Ronald Speirs, a platoon leader in Dog Company. She remembered the stories from D-Day, but like most of the girls chose not to listen to them. He was an officer after all; she assumed that if he needed to do something he'd do it. She had met the man a few times, like back on Christmas in 1942, or just run ins when she had a massive amount of supplies she needed to get somewhere. She had offered a smile though, like she did with everyone and kept moving. 

Hazel continued by Luz for a majority of the afternoon, her eyes trailing over the snow in the tracts his footprints made, weary and tired as she attempted to keep herself somewhat awake. Her ears were cold, but with the helmet on her head, they felt numb to the touch; the helmet did nothing when it came to keeping out any sort of freezing cold. Easy Company eventually reached their foxholes by the late afternoon, when the wind had picked up and she was just walking past Joe Toye, when he started yelling about his foxhole.

" Ah, you gotta be fucking kiddin' me." she had heard him yell, as she glanced over her shoulder toward him, " Someone's gonna die. Someone's gonna fucking die." She had smirked to herself, she had already seen the shit in the foxholes and was just trying to find Shifty again. She couldn't keep her eyes from the trees. When they were gone, their positions must've been taking quite the shelling. 

Many of the trees were cut right through the center, the tops gone, and insides split open, waiting to splinter someone, as the leftover debris that didn't impale someone lay on the ground, in the rubble of trees, branches and leaves covered in snow. She gulped to herself. 

Treebursts. 

The thought was terrifying, but she tried to put that out of her mind for the time being. With Foy so close by, now, it seemed to send a constant tremor through her body when she thought of who could've died here. There were men, German down in Foy who had killed American soldiers with their tree bursts and shellings. It made her heart pound.

" Oh, looks like the Krauts have been pounding this area with pretty big stuff, 88s. I'd say they got this whole stretch of the line targeted." Lip said to the group of Lieutenants.

" Well, they're not shelling now." Shames said, " Maybe they've got a new target-"

" No, they're just waiting." Lip told him. 

" For what?" Shames asked him.

" For us to reoccupy the position." Buck told him.

" Maybe we should fall back to a different location, dig in." Shames, said and Catherine glanced up at him.

" We're not falling back, Shames." Catherine said, and Lip looked at her.

" I've done plenty of recon, we fall back, we're still dead men." Catherine told him, as Shames watched her. He sighed.

" It's out job to hold the line here. We've got pretty good foxholes. We just need to fortify the covers." Lip stated.

" If they've got us targeted, maybe -" Buck stopped Foley from continuing.

" We hold the line here." Buck said firmly, as Catherine glanced at Foley.

" Sergeant Lipton's right, Lieutenant McCown is also right." Buck said, a bit sarcastically. 

" We're gonna strengthen our covers and we're gonna hang in. We're not gonna fall back." Buck said, looking at the group. Then he snickered.

" Right, Lieutenant?" he called out to Lieutenant Dike who stood farther away from them, against a tree, looking out and not really focused on anything. Catherine glanced over her shoulder from where she stood next to Foley, and raised a brow towards where the man stood. Dike looked over at them.

" Hmm?" he asked.

" Jesus." muttered Catherine. 

" Right, Lieutenant?" Buck called again.

" Fine." Dike said, " You all take care of it. I gotta go talk to Regiment." Catherine looked at the group. Catherine grumbled to herself. Lip sighed.

" We'd better get moving." Lip told them, and Catherine nodded, glancing back to where Dike was slowly disappearing. Catherine was now partnered with Foley for foxholes, and so the two had to fortify theirs better now, since it was her old one with Peacock's.

" I'm this close, Foley," Catherine said holding up her fingers for emphasis, to less than an inch apart, " I'm this close to losing my shit with this guy." 

" You're not the only one." Foley grumbled, " He's gonna get us killed." Catherine grumbled. Hazel and Shifty were working side by side to cut off branches to cover up the top of their foxhole together. Hazel was hacking away at the branches, attempting to remove the wood to the best of her ability. It was taking longer than she wanted, and her arm was beginning to hurt as she continued hacking away at it. But it was keeping her warmed up. Shifty was doing the same next to her but having more luck it seemed, as he began placing some of the branches on top. 

Hazel heard what seemed to be a distant explosion somewhere, and she slowly glanced up to see a puff of smoke and snow coming from Foy.

" Incoming!" she suddenly heard Lip yell his voice raw as he called over the men and women of Easy Company. 

" Hazel come on!" Shifty called to her and the two quickly jumped down into their foxhole as a whistle flew overhead and exploded shaking the Earth. Hazel wrapped her arms around Shifty as he wrapped his arms around her as the two held each other close as explosions rained down on top of them. 

Hazel was breathing quickly and her heart was racing, and tears were slowly filling her eyes as she tried to keep her head and ears away from the sound. She was grateful Shifty was there, and that they were holding each other. The two heard yells and screams coming from outside their foxhole, but they couldn't move. They had to stay under in cover.

" Take cover!" Catherine began calling, as she risked herself, to move along the line and tell people to get inside their foxholes. She felt an explosion go off nearby and she shoved a replacement in the nearby foxhole.

" Stay there!" she yelled at him, her voice straining in a plea that he wouldn't move.

" Get inside your fucking foxhole!" she yelled at people milling about. That's when she heard Lip behind her, running.

" Mack get in a foxhole!" Lip yelled at her.

" I'm fine! You go!" Catherine yelled. Sprinting through the onslaught of explosions made her fingers shake, and her heart tremble with each gasping explosions that went off behind her, shaking her entire being. 

" Lizzie!" a voice yelled, as Lizzie avoided an explosion coming at her from her right. She watched as Babe fell into her and the two went flying to the ground.

" Come on, get up!" Babe said as he stood and stumbled, pulling the girl to her feet.

" Find some cover!"

" Get in your foxhole!" 

" Come on, Lizzie." Babe said, before pushing her into the foxhole and falling in after her only to hear a crack and a tree quickly fall down on top of them.

" Babe?" Lizzie asked hoarsely in the darkness, trying to find him. She felt his hand on her shoulder and grabbed it, searching for his body. They continued to hear muffled screams and yells of panic outside, but could doing nothing. 

Finally Catherine could do nothing but slide into the foxhole with George, head in her knees, praying for it to be over.

" Where's Toye?!" she yelled to George.

" I didn't see him!" George called back to her, as an explosion went off near them, and the two huddled close together as the world shook and their ears rang. Another explosion hit them nearby to their foxhole, and George jumped on top of Catherine to shield her from the onslaught. Catherine could feel herself shaking as she clutched her Thompson to her chest. And she had no clue where the girls were. 

The world shook with such force, like God held it and was shaking it, so forcefully that Catherine thought she might lose her balance under George. But then everything settled for a moment and George pulled from on top of Catherine, and moved towards the quiet light. Catherine followed him out. People began sticking their heads out of the foxholes and looking around, waiting to hear the call or if there were medic calls as well.

" Stay in your foxholes!" she heard Lip begin to yell. 

" I need help!" a faint call came. Catherine perked up for a second, as the snow gently fell down. She strained to hear the voice again.

" Do you hear that?" she whispered softly as George looked at her. 

" I need help!" the pained cry called again. Her heart rate picked up.

" Help!" the cry called again. Catherine's heart shattered. And she began to feel tears filter into her eyes. It was Joe.

" George, it's Joe." Catherine said as a tear trickled down her cheek suddenly, her eyes and ears straining to just see or hear him call out again. She heard a gargled cry of pain.

" It's Joe." Catherine whispered, as she slumped back in the foxhole suddenly, her heart racing, her bottom lip trembling, her eyes flooding with tears. 

" It's Joe!" Catherine cried, jumping up suddenly, but George's arms were around her waist yanking her back quickly. His arms held her close to him as she stared up towards the grey sky.

" You'll get killed." George told her as he pulled her back.

" It's Joe, George!" Catherine protested, shoving against him to get closer to Joe, but it was no use. She heard his cries of pain and it suddenly felt so loud in her head. Catherine collapsed against George after struggling, breathing heavy as she squeezed her eyes shut. George didn't let her go.

" Help!" Babe yelled, moving his hand through the tree branches to a dim bit of light. 

" Help, anyone there?" Babe yelled again as Lizzie shifted to move towards the light.

" Anyone there! Help!" Babe yelled.

" Please!" Lizzie yelled.

" Hang on!" Lip suddenly yelled, like the voice of an angel. 

" Who's that?" Lip asked quickly.

" It's Heff, Babe!" Babe yelled, " And Lizzie, the Doc, she's here with me." 

" Come on, get us out of here, Lip!" Babe called. Lip and some other began yanking away at the trees. Lizzie began to see people, and the franticness that composed the three pulling pulling the branches of the fallen tree on them away.

" Hang on!' they heard Skip call. 

" Are you ok?" Lip suddenly called sticking his head in.

" Yeah." Babe called, " Take her first." 

" Come on, come on." Lip said as he grabbed Lizzie's hand and pulled her out of the foxhole and into his arms. Lip gently passed her to Penkala, who helped her to her feet and her shaking legs which she a bit weak at the moment and she smiled gratefully up at him.

" Come on." Lip called to Babe as he pulled him out of the foxhole.

" Ah, jeez, think I overdid it on the cover for my foxhole?" Babe muttered sarcastically. Then suddenly, another loud whistle echoed from the sky above.

" Incoming!" yelled Lip, and Penkala grabbed Lizzie and ran her to a nearby foxhole where Skip and Babe joined the two all crouched together in the foxhole. Catherine began to hear more bombings and shellings and her heart raced. 

" Joe!" Catherine suddenly yelled, her voice filled with pain as tears raced down her cheeks.

" Joe!" Catherine yelled again as the bombings got louder. George pulled her down into the foxhole again as her body grew weak from trying to get out. She grabbed a fistful of dirt and squeezed it so hard in her hands, as a quiet cry escaped her lips, her worry overloading. She didn't even know if he was ok. 

" Medic!" a cry suddenly came and Catherine's bloodshot eyes opened wide. Explosion after and explosion followed, like someone was just dropping the bombs one after another down onto the ground. And each explosion created more debris pushed up in the air. 

Catherine began to see tree branches falling in the explosions crashing to the ground as dirt was kicked up and tree splinters shot out everywhere. The sky was lit up by the explosions and it was like fireworks or thunder rolling in. As the explosions slowly drew farther away George crawled out of the foxhole again looking out, as Catherine, weak and emotionally distraught followed with tear filled eyes.

" Lip?!" George yelled, as Catherine felt more tears fall down her cheeks. Catherine could see Lip not too far away crawl out of where he was. 

" Are you okay?" Lip asked. George gave the thumbs up. Lip nodded, and noticed Catherine looking a mess, crying. His worry spiked.

" Stay down!" Lip yelled as a figured appeared behind him, " You stay down!" 

" 1st Sergeant Lipton!" a voice called, it was Dike. Catherine narrowed her tear filled eyes.

" You get things organized here." Dike said, " I'm gonna go for help." 

" What the fuck?" hissed George, as Catherine watched Dike go. 

What type of CO? 

The two watched as Lip climbed out of his foxhole.

" Lip, where the fuck's he going?" George asked the man. 

" I don't know, listen, get Battalion on the line, tell them to notify BAS, " Lip said quickly, before glancing at Catherine who looked up as she tried to wipe her tears, and try not to be weak. 

She had to tell herself Joe was fine. 

Because where ever Joe was, Bill usually was there too.

" Battalion's up, Lip!" George called, as he hauled out his radio and began calling Battalion CP. Nixon would hopefully be on the other side. 

" MEDIC!" an ear piercing scream suddenly yelled. 

Lizzie was up and out of the foxhole she was with Babe, Skip and Penkala and was running towards the sound. Lizzie dodged through the trees, getting closer to where the cry had come from. When she arrived at the sight, she stopped cold. Her heart began racing and she looked up to see Gene was standing in front of her. 

Bill and Joe Toye were on the ground in front of them, and they were injured, badly, limbs missing for both of them.

Lizzie spiraled into dread. 

They couldn't continue to fight this war, they needed the aid station, too much blood loss and they'd die. 

She couldn't even think of Catherine or Hazel's reaction.

" You work on Bill, Lizzie, I'll work on Joe." Gene told her as she walked up to him. She nodded and turned to Bill. She slowly crouched down in front of him, eyes filled with sadness.

" It's ok, kid." Bill told her softly.

" Bill..." she whispered, as she slowly pulled a bandage from her bag.

" It's ok, Lizzie, it'll all be ok." he told her, and her heart fell. She had to focus. She had to focus for Bill, to clean him up and make it easier for him.

" Doc, what can I do?" she heard a voice ask and glanced over her shoulder. It was Malarkey. She made eye-contact with him and her heart shattered. She had to focus back on Bill, to keep from her emotion getting the better of herself. 

" Jesus, what's a guy gotta do to get killed around here?" Joe managed out. Lizzie squeezed her eyes shut, she couldn't focus or comprehend a thing.

" No." a cry came from above her and Lizzie and Bill looked over to see it was Catherine, standing there with tears running down her face. 

Catherine collapsed to her knees. 

Lizzie couldn't help but let a cry escape her own mouth, seeing how desperate Catherine was. It was so raw and emotional and true. 

There was so much pain. 

Bill sighed to himself as Lizzie worked cautiously on his wound. She bit her lip and looked back at Joe. He was her friend, they both were. She couldn't believe this was happening.

" Bill, you're going first." Catherine head Gene say, as she looked back at Joe, who was looking at his leg.

" Hey, Lip, they got old Guarnere this time." Lizzie watched Guarnere say as she prepared to help move his body to a stretcher.

" We got you, soldier." the stretcher bearer told him. 

" Wait, Bill." Catherine stammered, as she crawled forward and looked at him.

" I'm sorry, about this all, I wish you can stay," Catherine managed, " You've become one of my best friends, I...I should've, uh, never-"

" Catherine," Bill said stopping her. She looked at him with tear filled eyes.

" Thank you." Bill said. Catherine felt a cry pass her lips and she nodded. Then Bill was lifted up and away from Catherine. Catherine shut her eyes, and forced cries down her throat. Lip watched as Lizzie sat motionless on the ground where Bill had once sat, trembling. He saw Gene and Malarkey doing their best for Joe. He saw Buck in the distance. 

" Hey, Joe, I told you I'd beat you back to the states." Bill said as he passed by them, making a sob escape Catherine's trembling, pink lips. Catherine looked at Joe Toye with utter despair.

" Joe-" Catherine started but Joe stopped her.

" What he said." Joe said through a grimace and Catherine let out a whimper.

" Hey, Lip." a new voice called. George. Lip looked up from what had just happened and stepped towards George. George entered the scene and saw Catherine first. She was motionless with tears running down her face, unmoving. 

Lip stepped in front of him before he could ask questions. Lizzie was slowly moving over to Joe's side and holding him up with Malarkey quietly. Catherine was quiet. But George then saw Joe, lying there with Malarkey by his side as Gene tried to fix him up.

" How's Buck?" Lip asked him. 

" Luz, how's Buck?" Lip asked again, as George focused on the 1st Sergeant.

" He's fine." George said quietly. His voice trembled. Little did they know that George tried to pull Buck from his trance, but he was left on his knees. 

" You sure?"

" Yes, he's fine." George answered, " I think you should probably go talk to him now, huh?" Buck was a distraught mess as well. 

" Alright." Lip said. And then Lip walked away. George had to look away from Joe. George slowly crouched by Catherine's side. Catherine was motionless, her eyes staring forward, the trace of tears having disappeared from her face.

" Cath," George whispered as she looked towards him. George and Catherine met eyes in the frozen wasteland. 

Her's were cold as his tried to rekindle a flame there. 

It barely made a mark.

" Let's go." George whispered. Catherine softly licked her lips, before grasping onto George and letting him help her stand to her feet. Then with one final look at Joe Toye, George lead Catherine away from the spot where blood colored the ground and emotions ran at a steady incline. 

George and Catherine sat quietly side by side in the foxhole. No words left their mouths and Catherine was surprised. They were talkative, especially together, but now they were silenced by war and pain.

" You okay Catherine?" George said, softly glancing towards her. Catherine met his eyes. there were tears, fresh tears in his eyes. Her heart fell, and her face scrunched up, as she watched his youthful eyes shine. Her heart broke, as she began to feel her bottom lip trembling, uncontrollably. 

Catherine's heart raced. She never thought she'd see George cry, George upset emotionally, George with tears that weren't happy tears in his eyes.

" George." she whispered, scooting closer as a tear trailed down his cheek, " Don't cry, please." George watched her, taking in a shaky breath, as he wiped at his eyes. Catherine watched him, squeeze his eyes shut, and let out a shaky breath. Catherine sucked in a cry. This hurt. This hurt more than so many other things. 

" George," she whispered, gently placing a hand on his shoulder as he met her eyes, " look at me, please." George met her eyes. Two tear filled pairs of eyes watched each other. Two hearts broken, yet only repaired slightly. They were still wounded, bearing too much pain, too much heart ache.

" Can I hug you?" George whispered, " Please?" Catherine nodded softly, her lip trembling as George's arms wrapped around her. 

Catherine was frozen with George's arms around, frozen with the man's arms, who was happiest person she'd ever met, who seemed to have no bad day, who seemed to never let anyone get to him. 

Who now was trembling in her grasp. 

Catherine then felt her throat tighten and she squeezed her eyes shut. In that moment, her arms wrapped tightly around George and full, quiet, innocent cries, left her mouth one after the other. Her hand went up into his hair, pushing against his head to hold him there in her arms, as a sob shook her entire being. George tightened his grip on her and the two souls connected, sobbing for one thing, crying, their hearts aching in agony and pain. 

They held each other when they needed to be held, right now was one of those moments. 

Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye, made Easy Company, Easy Company, and with them gone, everyone had to fill those holes. 

They'd always cared so much, for everyone. 


	83. 5 am cigarettes

" in your dark days, just turn around and i will be there. and maybe i won't have any more light to give than what you have already. but i will take your hand and we will find the light together."

_\- JmStorm_

✰✰✰

That night, at the dinner line, it was so quiet. Catherine didn't show up for dinner. Hazel and Lizzie were there, but they were so quiet and closed off, that they could barely talk with tear filled eyes, and red, blood-shot eyes. 

Joe Liebgott sat next to Hazel that night, on the log from earlier that afternoon, as she pushed the food around in the tin. Joe could see her holding back her trembling lip, as well as the tears that wanted to fall from her eyes. So Joe decided to sit beside her and eat quietly, and not say anything. 

Hazel needed him to know that she appreciated him just sitting there, without saying a word. She slowly reached forward, and grabbed his hand with her gloved one without even making eye contact. She interlaced their fingers, sucking in a shaking breath as she did so. Her hand was cold in his own warm one, but Joe knew it meant the world to Hazel. Joe knew that as thanks from her, especially right now. 

She had never said good bye to Bill or Joe, her mind filled with the memories of them protecting her and defending and making her smile when she felt she was in the dark. 

Bill had been the one to comfort her before anyone after the letter from her father before D-Day. 

Joe had been the one there for the hugs and the excitement and the encouragement that never failed to roll from him. 

And the two had been there on Christmas Day, singing like a bunch of saints, like there wasn't a war, like there was no fear. Like there was only pease. It only made her heart hurt more. She didn't know when she'd get that dart game consisting of Joe, Babe and her against Buck, George and possibly Catherine. She didn't know when that was to happen and it made her sad that it might never happen. Her heart ached. 

The days slowly started bleeding together, and Buck was taken off the line. He couldn't deal with seeing Joe and Bill like that. He'd been strong for so long, and nobody was upset with him going away to heal mentally. Lizzie sat alone, eyes frozen and shut off, her eyes not focused on anything.

" Hey," a voice said and Lizzie looked up to see it was Malarkey. 

" Oh, hey," Lizzie said as she looked up towards him. He offered a small smile, before sitting down beside her on the log.

" I couldn't save them," Lizzie whispered to him, shaking her head. 

" You tried, it's all that matters." Malarkey told her. She nodded.

" Is that all that matters anymore?" Lizzie asked softly, as she looked at her blood stained finger tips. Malarkey looked at them to, as Lizzie watched them with sad eyes. 

" I think so." Malarkey told her quietly. Lizzie looked up at him, and saw the sadness that filled his eyes.

" I wish I could've done something though." Lizzie said, " Especially because of Buck, and you and Babe." 

" I know." Malarkey told her and she nodded as her bottom lip trembled a bit. Malarkey gently rubbed her back and nodded to her with a small smile.

" You did what you could." Malarkey told her and she nodded, having to trust him on that one. She did what she could. 

Everything began to weigh heavy on Easy Company. 

Hazel missed Bill, Joe and Buck more and more, and with each moment she found herself thinking of them, any memory she could grasp of them, trying to just keep their faces in her mind. And with that, Hazel found herself having trouble sleeping at night; all she could imagine was the hit Bill and Joe took, the voice in her head repeating the words just so she could believe it fully, convince herself, tell herself, it was real. 

Meals were a quiet affair; she missed that Bill and Joe weren't there to greet mostly everyone and then to lead the group in some of the funniest stories and retellings of Easy's time in Aldbourne. 

Now, it was quiet. 

Catherine found herself, the day after Bill and Joe had been pulled from the line, leaned up against a tree, a frown etched onto her features. Her arms were crossed and her gaze was far off, as if it were in another world.

" Lieutenant." a voice said and Catherine glanced up softly to see George coming towards her. After the emotional hug between the two, there had been this heightened mutual respect between the two, more than it ever had been. 

" George," she said pushing up from the tree, her eyes anything but bright. George stopped in front of her and pulled something up in front of him. He raised a brow. Catherine smiled sadly and took the cigarette from him. She placed it on her lip and George gently lit it, as she breathed it in with a sigh.

" A cigarette for a thousand problems." she said with a small sigh, pulling the cigarette from her lips. George let a tiny laugh past his lips. 

" They have dinner up and running." George said, " Came looking for you when you didn't show up." Catherine slowly glanced up at George and shook her head.

" I'm not hungry." she said softly, shaking her head, " I think I'd throw up if I had to eat something." George watched her. 

" If you can't do it yourself, I'll spoon feed it to ya." George said with a light, joking tone and Catherine looked up to see a small smile on his face. She smiled the best she could, an ache still perpetrating her heart.

" Would you really?" she said with a laugh as George snickered, " I'm just kidding." 

" You sure? I got a spoon," George said pulling it from his front pocket, " for two?" Catherine just laughed lightly and shook her head.

" I think I'll work on this cigarette for a bit." she told him. George have a gentle smile to her.

" You do that, Lieutenant. You need me, you know where I'll be." he said to her slowly stepping back from her with a smile, waving the box in his hands.

" If I see that white box flying, I'll know it's you." she called lightly back and she smiled at George's chuckle which filled the air. She smiled as her heart fell. 

Throughout the following days, Easy tried to adjust to life without Bill, Buck and Joe in the company. Just not seeing their faces and such and even Joe Toye's singing. Hazel occupied her time by sitting with her friends, just being with her friends. You never knew when someone would have their last day of life. And she looked at the stars when they would show and she'd pray. She prayed so much now, she prayed this would end soon and that they would stop losing the lives they lost, to death or wounds. She just wanted it to stop. 

On the 7th, she watched the stars peak out for the first time in a few days and watched them sparkle and shine, despite the darkness. They shined so bright, twinkling across the night sky. She imagined what it might look like sitting up on a star looking down at the war torn world. 

Would the stars see all this destruction, all the fire and the pain, every person that looked up at them? 

Would they notice? 

Would it be recognizable that this was the world they had seen develop as it had? 

What was it like beyond the stars? 

Beyond this reality? 

Hazel sucked in a breath softly, and that's when a body slid in beside her. She glanced over expecting Shifty but it was Liebgott. Her heart filled with a newfound relief just seeing him there in this cold wasteland.

" Joe..." she whispered softly, smiling gently at him. 

" I heard someone wasn't hungry and well, I knew I had to pay a visit." he said softly and Hazel smiled sadly at him. Joe watched her eyes.

" It's Bill and Joe, right?" Joe whispered softly as Hazel watched him with a softened gaze, trying not to break down at the thought. It was still so ungodly fresh in her mind and all she wanted was for a bit of relief, something else to think about and get mind off of it - off of the fact they were gone. 

" Yeah," she whispered, bringing up her hand to wipe hastily at her cheek. She looked down.

Joe wished that if they were back in America, he could take her to that special spot right by the Golden Gate Bridge, where you could see every star. And you couldn't hear much noise from the nearby highway, just the laps of water against the rocky edges and the crickets in the trees, the chirping of the evening birds every so often. It seemed like a dream compared to this nightmare. Joe watched her eyes well up with tears. 

" I'm sorry your sad, Hazel," Joe whispered beside her and she looked at him, " I wish there was something I could do to take it away." Hazel watched his eyes search hers and smiled gently; she knew he was truthful in his words. 

Joe Liebgott was always truthful to her, no matter what, they were best friends.

" Can you just stay here with me?" she whispered softly, as her eyes welled with more tears. 

" Yeah," Joe said immediately, a small smile on his face, " of course, what type of best friend would I be?" Hazel let out a slight giggle that settled Joe for the moment. Joe gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she rested her weary head against his shoulder, shutting her eyes. Joe brought her as close as he could, her tiny body, shaking in his grasp as she lay there so quietly.

" I'm glad we're friends you know? Best friends?" Joe said quietly, " Remember I told you how fascinating it was to see your love for the stars? Or how caring and kind you were to everyone and how strong you were?" Hazel gently looked up to meet his eyes with her own and she smiled softly at him. 

" How'd I get so lucky to have a friend like you?" Joe said to her and Hazel felt more tears rush to her eyes as she watched him, his face turning blurry from the tears.

" Do you want to tell me about the stars?" he whispered softly, brushing a stray tear from her cheek that trailed down from her sad, blue eyes. 

" Yes," she whispered softly watching him and she saw him smile.

" Alright, get comfy," Joe said as she giggled a bit cuddling into his side, and they looked up towards the gleaming stars.

" I'm excited," he whispered as if he were a kid about to watch a movie and Hazel giggled.

" You know I was convinced they were lightning bugs?" Hazel said a slight giggle leaving her mouth.

" Really?" Joe asked and she could hear the smirk in his tone.

" Yeah, and my mom would tell me they were these wondrous things called stars, but I was firmly convinced that they were tiny lightning bugs out there in the sky, who's butts never stopped glowing." she said and she heard Joe laugh from above her and she smiled a bit more. 

" When do you start to call them stars?" he asked her.

" When I was 8." she said and Joe froze up for a moment, but then settled himself. Her dad had caused that shift that change from lightning bugs to stars. But sitting here with Hazel, he left himself calm down. 

" I realized they were stars and not lighting bugs." Hazel said with a giggle, " So then I would go to the library and I would get every book related to any form of stars I could."

" Really?" Joe asked. 

" Of course!" she said sitting up and looking at him as his hand held her shoulder, " The Friendly Stars by Martha Evans Martin was my favorite." Joe smiled at the excitement in her eyes and how giddy she got.

" Maybe it was because it was a female written book that wasn't just all big words and definitions and actually was interesting." Hazel said shyly as Joe laughed. 

" But do you know what else they had?" she said softly to Joe, looking at him with shining eyes.

" Illyne's star chart, a massive chart filled with all the stars you could've seen in the night sky. They had an old tattered copy in the library and I looked at it every time I went, and each time I went home, I knew I could look up at the sky, and pinpoint where those stars would be." Hazel said and Joe watched her with shining eyes. His heart was swelling. 

Seeing her become so passionate about things she loved, made his heart warmer than it ever has been, just seeing her focus on the stars, which brought her safety and security and comfort.

" How do you find them? Do I look through the bottom of my cup to get a closer visual?" Joe asked with a smirk on his face. 

" No!' squealed Hazel quietly, hitting him in the shoulder as he laughed joyously, " it's called a telescope, Joseph, not a cup."

" What's with the full name?" he said a smirk on his features. 

" It got your attention didn't it?" she said softly, a smirk on her own features. Joe's heart missed a beat as she watched him with confident eyes. 

Truth be told it had, and now his heart was racing because of it. 

Can his heart calm down for 5 seconds and not have a full panic attack where it ran into every vessel running from his heart? Could it slow down and let Joe just be in this moment for a second.

" Very much so," Joe answered and Hazel laughed lightly. 

" Good," she said looking at him and Joe smirked wider. Joe spent the night with Hazel, talking about the stars until she felt too tired to continue. So Joe just made sure she rested without the nightmares that would fill her mind, like they did the past few nights. And she finally did manage some sleep that night. 

Well, except if it weren't for the shelling that day morning at 0300, which caused chaos pretty much everywhere. People running, screaming, yelling, Gene and Lizzie making early runs to the aid station for a few replacements, as they raced them away, bleeding from the limb. But people were just numb to it all. It's like the Germans thought they were surprised each time the mortars flew over. Like they hadn't been dealing with all this for almost a month by now. It was nothing new. 

So now, Catherine sat beside George that morning, smoking cigarettes at 5 am, sitting on a log, eyes strained. Skip and Penkala were in the nearby foxhole, eyes strained as well. It seemed no one could sleep. Catherine wished she could just got back to the moments.

" It's like fireworks," Catherine whispered softly as she let out a drag of smoke, pulling the cigarette from her shaking lips, " you know the ones that go up into the air that never get too boring. Except these just make ya numb." Skip and Penkala glanced at her as George cast a glance her way. 

" I grew up on racetracks in the summer," she said, " even though I lived in Upstate New York my parents liked to head down to my grandparents farm in Kentucky, where they'd do the Kentucky Derby, train the horses, a bunch of shit like that. And they had these massive fireworks on July 4th, huge, you sent 'em off, they never came down again."

" Lieutenant?" Skip asked her and Catherine just sighed. 

" Fireworks are only fun until you lose someone." she said, " My uncle thought it was brilliant to stand on one as it shot off." She placed the smoke back on her lip.

" It's what these remind me of," Catherine said looking around at the tree tops watching as the sky was slowly changing from a black to blue. 

" I'm sorry," Skip said quietly and she offered a sad, forced smile, shaking her head.

" You have a lot of family there, Lieutenant?" Penkala asked her. Catherine smiled.

" Yeah, I do." she said, " Grandparents had 5 kids, each kid has a family, and a racehorse at the stables, I have cousins with kids already, we have a big family." Penkala offered a smile.

" Your racehorse got a name there?" George said bumping her leg with a smile. 

" His name's Justify, I know my dad picked it out." she said and George snickered a bit as she smiled.

" You go to the races?" Skip asked her. Catherine smiled a bit and nodded.

" Yep, each summer since the late 20s." she said, then she shook her head, " I hated it in the beginning though, knowing there were people who could barely afford homes and I was here, in this posh world, watching horses race against each other, for money, when our economy was trickling away." The trio looked at each other before looking back at the Lieutenant.

" It's over now though," George told her, and Catherine smiled and nodded. 

" Yeah it is," she said and then looked at the trio, " I hope this ends soon as well and maybe I can take you 3 there some day." The three of them smiled wide, their eyes jumping wide at the words.

" You really think so?" Skip asked her.

" Definitely, my Aunt Ronnie and Aunt Sunny don't come anymore and they had a gaggle of kids with them so we've always had a few open seats." she said and they all smiled.

" I'm assuming I'd make quite the impression?" George said as he placed the cigarette on his lip and smirked. Catherine let a laugh past her lips.

" I think you'd make a wonderful impression, all of you," Catherine said, " My brothers are military men and my dad's an ex-Marine, we basically have almost every member of the McCown in the military or has been or is looking into it."

" Ex-Marine?" George asked, " You've peaked my interest Lieutenant McCown, enlighten me." Catherine smirked.

" He fought in the Great War, just some 19 year old kid in 1917, making his way through life, going off to fight some war." Catherine said, " Sometimes I see him standing out on the back porch you know, looking out towards the Adirondacks and he'll just stand in silence. He won't say a word, he's real secretive and quiet about his time in war, but he never falls to bring up Drill Sergeant Saturday." Catherine laughed to herself.

" Drill Sergeant Saturday?" Skip asked through a laugh.

" What's that?" Penkala asked a smile on his face.

" Well, some days in the summer down at the racetrack, my siblings and I would be helping clean the place before guests and stuff arrive for the day and usually the race would be on Saturdays. My dad would order us around like he were a Drill Sergeant, and whoever got their work done fastest always got free candy in the end." Catherine explained, smiling fondly at the memory. Her dad was nuts, but she loved him for it, he knew how to have fun.

" My $5 is on you," George said as he took a smoke drag.

" Your $5 bet you well, Mr. Luz," she said.

" You'd win?" Penkala asked as Catherine nodded.

" Jack and Clark, my two brothers, they were on the football team, and always said how they'd win because they ran fast enough and impressed the local ladies, I showed them up all the time," she said and the trio laughed.

" I'd believe it," Skip said, " did you see yourself running those laps in Aldbourne, with that war cry of yours? I mean, I'd believe it in a heart beat." The group chuckled at the memory.

" Hi-ho silver!" mocked George, throwing his hand in a punch into the air, as he chuckled to himself, the group laughing. 

Even at 5 am, with their cigarettes in their fingers, and a chill in the air after the hard artillery barrage, Catherine felt herself really laugh; maybe they were finally approaching the end of this nightmare, and for good. 


	84. gone

" People are never really gone because they live on in the hearts of those they leave behind."

_\- Mary Louise Wright_

✰✰✰

The day was spent fortifying foxhole covers that had been blown up or for Lizzie, resting in a foxhole as Gene spoon fed her some of Joe Domingus' soup. Lizzie watched as Gene slowly brought the food to her lips, his eyes sunken in still, his gaze rather far off, and his hand shaking slightly. Lizzie had reached the stage of sickness with her fever where by this point she was more pissed off she was still dealing with it then by the fact it had been almost a month since the bullshit started. 

" You're doing it again." Gene whispered softly as he lifted a spoonful to her mouth. Lizzie looked down, the tapping. The nervous tapping on her leg. When she fixated on something she couldn't move from it or she tapped anxiously. Yay.

" I sick of this, Gene, feeling like utter shit." she said, as Gene slowly scooped the spoon to her mouth and she took it.

" I know you are." Gene said, " But if we keep trying, we can hopefully get you feeling better real soon."

" I hope you're right Gene," she said, frowning as she swallow, " I'm just, I feel horrible, lying here in the cold, miserable and angry that I'm sick, even with the penicillin shots." Gene gently reached forward and placed a slightly warm hand on her shoulder.

" I know you're upset, but if you think about it," Gene said, as she took another spoonful of food," you don't have to feed yourself." And Lizzie watched to her surprise as a small smirk fell on Gene's face. She swallowed her food, grinning.

" Gene Roe, you're getting smart with me aren't you?" she said, gently shoving his shoulder and Gene chuckled to himself.

" I guess that's what I get," he said.

" You calling me a bad influence?" Lizzie said as she took another spoonful, sniffling a bit.

" No," Gene said, " a good one at that." Lizzie grinned proudly. 

Catherine's run to CP that afternoon was uneventful but she got to see Nixon chugging coffee at 1600 so it did brighten her day to say the least.

" How is your throat not burning, Nix?" Catherine asked him.

" Well, drinking your coffee in one sip with Sobel, back at Toccoa, because he would pull that sorta shit? Runs up Currahee, as I'm sipping my coffee? You chug that thing and then move. You get pretty damn good at it." Nixon said and Catherine laughed lightly.

" Yeah, well, you didn't always fare well." Winters said stepping into the CP. Nixon chuckled.

" Dike shown up?" Catherine asked.

" Nope," Winters said, " not even a foot print." 

" Am I surprised, not entirely." Catherine said, before she stood and lit up another cigarette with a sigh.

" You've been thinking about Foy?" she asked, looking out and watching Lip move from foxhole to foxhole, gently bending down to talk to Tab. Her mind racked all possibilities of what they could experience in Foy with Dike as a leader, as someone who was supposed to lead the company forward, to victory.

" I have," she heard Dick say and Catherine let out a shaky sigh. 

" What happens if he freezes up? Or doesn't even show up?" she said, her worry getting the best of her. These men were their company, her original company and she loved them. Seeing them be led in by an incompetent leader that could get them all killed hurt her more than she could even imagine.

" I'm going to talk to him, enforce it in him, because if he freezes up I might just run out there myself." Dick said and Catherine turned to look at him.

" You'd do that?" she asked him.

" They were my company a few months ago," Dick said looking up towards her from his map with a smile, " I'd do anything for them."

" Ah, the good general himself." Nixon said raising his coffee in the air. Catherine rolled her eyes with a smirk.

" Captain, but sure Nix." she said as Nixon laughed.

" You finish that report?" Nixon asked her.

" Begrudgingly enough." she commented as Nixon laughed.

" You Ivy Leagues done yapping?" Dick asked them turning to look at them.

" Whoa there Dick, is that sarcasm?" Nixon said as Dick smirked shaking his head.

" My only defense against you two." Dick said and Catherine laughed.

" You say it like it's a bad thing." she said. Dick met her eyes and she laughed.

" You make a good point," she said as she slowly sat herself down. 

" The reports been given to Dike, I forced it into those hands of his for Regiment, hopefully he listens." she said.

" That would be a nice turn of events." Nixon commented as she smirked. It sure would be. The rest of the day was spent in the quiet of the snow falling and a cold dinner. 

And by the next morning, there were no early morning barrages, which was a relief many members of Easy were thankful for, especially since many were able to obtain a bit of sleep. Catherine knew she could be sad about Bill, Buck and Joe, but she knew that they would want her to remain strong, and level headed and continue to embody what it meant to be a good combat leader even in the face of fear. And that's where she felt she found the strength she did in the days they were taken away. 

The memories of them kept her going, all the fun times in the bars, the jokes, the drinking games, the hugs, the moments of banter that settled deep into her brain. She was thankful for them and what they had taught her. 

How they had loved her for who she was. She never appreciated those men more.

The day was dark and cold, like many others, and many people just spent the day in their foxholes, numbly counting down the hours until it was time to sleep again. 

Hazel was one of those, huddled in her foxhole, curled against the rocky soil, snoozing as best she could as Shifty sat beside her, staring up through the trees with a soft gaze. The two sharpshooters had done a patrol that morning, on request of Winters, and had come back exhausted. It was a simple lookout to Foy, where the attack would soon be leading to, considering how long they'd been looking down on the town. The attack would hopefully let them then go back to Mourmelon, to showers, to hot food, to a warm bed, to a full nights sleep. To normal human necessities that you were deprived of out here. 

Dinner that night was rather hilarious. Tab and Lizzie were having one of their funnier arguments about the movie _Arsenic and Old Lac_ e which the group had seen when it first came out back in September.

" The quote was, Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops," Lizzie told him, " Not that it ruins your family." Tab scoffed.

" I think I know the quote to one of my favorite movies." he argued back and Lizzie raised a brow.

" You thought Bambi was about the most innocent little dear turning into a savage." Lizzie said, " Of course it was about tragedy in life, Tab, but I won't fight you on it anymore."

" Elizabeth, come on, you were putting up a good battle for it." Tab said shoving her shoulder as Lizzie narrowed her eyes.

" I have a 101.3 fever, if the battle seems it is coming to the end I might end it." she said as Tab chuckled.

" It was ruin," Tab said to her as Lizzie shoved her shoulder into him, with a laugh as he shoved her back.

" You're ridiculous." she said.

" I think you mean amazing but go on." he said as Lizzie rolled her eyes.

" Maybe you just don't want to admit you're wrong." she said and Tab smirked.

" Yeah right," he said.

" Alright then, when we get back to Mourmelon, you request Arsenic and Old Lace and we'll settle this once and for all." Lizzie said, holding out her elbow to him. Tab raised a brow.

" I think this is where we shake on it, Elizabeth, not nudge elbows together like those old folks." Tab said.

" I'm sick, I don't want you sick from shaking my hand on a bet." she said looking at him with a nod.

" Ah, right, right," he said and nudged her elbow, " It's a deal."

" You two still on about this?" George asked approaching the two as he scooped out food from his tin.

" You quote movies all the time, George. It's insanity runs in my family, not runs my family right?" Lizzie asked him innocently. George chuckled.

" Yeah you're right why? Did this guy think it was ruins my family?" George asked looking towards Tab who rolled his eyes.

" Quite possibly." Lizzie said as George laughed.

" I think we might have to head out Tab and rewatch some movies. Allow me to educate you on analysis." George said taking a bow. Tab groaned shaking his head. 

" You get me fixated I won't let up, you knew I was right." Lizzie said with a winning grin. Tab rolled his eyes again.

" I still think I'm right even if Mr. Hollywood right here thinks different." Tab said as George chuckled.

" You humor me, Floyd." George said as Lizzie laughed, finally peaking out from the fever and cold for the first time in a while. Both men looked at her.

" Don't look so surprised boys, it's called getting better because I'm actually taking time for myself." she said with a wide grin, " And I'm tried of lying in a foxhole." 

" I'd be tired to." Tab commented and the trio laughed together joyfully that night. Maybe things were looking up.

" You sure you two are staying warm?" Catherine said softly to Hazel and Shifty who were curled into each other, exhausted looking but with small smiles on their faces.

" We're fine, Mack, promise, you go and get some rest, okay?" Shifty told her and Catherine smiled softly.

" I knew I could always count on you, Shift." Catherine said and Shifty smiled proudly. 

" I'll see you two." she said, standing and giving a tiny wink to them before heading off through the foxholes again. 

The lovely Lieutenant meeting, was different without Buck, and his usual comments filled with sarcasm, but Dike was not mentally there, even if he stood with his two boots in the snow. Catherine had barely managed a coherent answer from him for her reports and finally just shoved them in his hands before he left for Regiment. 

She saw fear in his eyes. 

Good. 

Then a whistle exploded through the sky and Catherine's eyes shot up to the darkening sky that lie above her. An explosion went off right beside her and Catherine picked up her pace, racing forward as the imagination of fireworks left her mind and she was just escaping death's grasp by that point. She pushed a hand to her head, her helmet pressing into her skull, as an explosion caused her to turn off course and then stumble into the snow. Her face slammed straight into the icy snow and she inhaled dirt, debris and ice. The ground shook and she forced herself up from the snow, coughing out whatever particles were in her throat, hacking and hacking until it left her system.

" Get moving! Find a foxhole!" she heard someone yelling as she pushed herself, struggling to her feet, her legs shaking beneath her as through her blurred vision she could make out what she assumed to be Skip and Penkala's foxhole from a distance. 

" Incoming!" a voice yelled, and she watched Penkala and Skip jump straight into their foxhole. She moved towards them and then stumbled and landed on her stomach, a coughing fit ensuing again shortly afterwards, as the air left her lungs. 

In the haziness, she could see George through it all crawling towards the foxhole as dirt and debris and snow fell on him. Skip and Penkala were yelling for him. 

If it meant she died and George got there she didn't care. 

She needed to get him in the foxhole and continue down the line. Catherine slowly pushed herself to her feet, and continuing to stumble, seeing double vision all at once until she fell over her feet again, groaning as she landed in the freezing cold snow. 

Skip and Penkala continued yelling for Luz, and then all the sudden they weren't. 

Catherine's eyes widened as she landed on her stomach again, and began hacking. Smoke billowed up from their foxhole, with flame and sparks, and she watched in fear as it cleared. They were gone, as explosions continued off in the background. 

Her heart stopped beating, her eyes went spotted black and she felt she couldn't get oxygen to her lungs. 

She felt suffocated. 

Skip and Penkala, who she promised to take them to the race tracks. 

They were gone. 

They were completely gone. 

Her eyes welled with tears as she lip quivered, staring forward to where they had just been. Now, they were gone. They were gone. Those words would never make it to her heart completely, they'd hover around it like a bee, but never fully imprint on her heart that they were gone. Someone was calling her name. She felt a hand on her arm and vibration in her ear, but she couldn't hear, everything was so quiet. 

But she could feel the ground shaking. She forced her eyes open and saw George looking at her as explosions went off around them. She looked at his lips. He was telling her to move and come on. But she couldn't hear him. 

What was going on? 

She and George grasped onto each other as they stood and Catherine faintly began to hear things again. George was yanking her along as they ran through the hell storm of German artillery. 

Suddenly, George tripped and she fell next to him. He got desperate and began yanking her as her lungs filled with smoke and debris and she began hacking. She couldn't seen, she could barely hear, she was disoriented. Then she felt hands on her coat, pulling her towards whoever it was. She was smooshed against a body or maybe two. She began to hear things again, louder and she could feel her eyes opening. She was shoved against George with Lip's arm holding her close around her waist. 

Explosions continued rattling off around them, and she felt so small, like on D-Day. She squeezed her eyes shut and burrowed herself into Lip's arms, curled in a ball, praying it would stop. Praying that what just happened wasn't true. Tears crawled down her cheeks, realization hitting her brain, her entire being. 

They were gone. 

Skip and Penkala, the two boys who always had a compliment, a joke and a smile. 

Her heart went to Don and she let out a sob, but no one heard over the explosions that shook the world with such force. Another 2 souls lost to this war because they couldn't come to terms. Another 2 that wouldn't make it home.

" Muck and Penkala!" she heard George yell. 

" What?" Lip yelled back.

" Muck and Penkala got hit!" George yelled to him and Catherine shut her eyes more. 

It was a dream, it was all a dream she had to tell herself. 

But it wasn't. 

And there were explosions and death and injuries and fear and snow and biting cold. It was all real. Suddenly, as explosion blew over them, knocking Catherine backwards from Lip, which she hit her head roughly against the cold ground. She let out a cry, as her hands grasped at the back of her head quickly.

" Catherine!" George yelled, as he reached forward and pulled the girl who had lost her weapon and helmet into his arms, pulling her head into his chest, before covering his own with his hands, Lip and his body over hers. 

Catherine was shaking beneath the two of them, as she grasped tightly onto George's jacket, her hands weak and trembling. It was a dream. It was all a nightmarish dream. Suddenly, it seemed to all stop, until there was a whistle. The trio glanced up and saw a dead bomb, smoking and lying there. 

It didn't explode. 

George was quick to put a smoke onto his lips and light it as Catherine lay feeling frozen against him watching the explosion with wide eyes. Lip took the cigarette from George's lips and placed it on his own. He didn't smoke.

" Thought you didn't smoke." George told him. 

" I don't." Lip whispered. George muttered an, uh-huh and put another on his lips. Catherine was watching the dud. Skip and Penkala. 

They were dead. 

They were gone. 

Catherine's heart was racing furiously inside her chest. She could remember it perfectly. She hated that she remembered it perfectly. Catherine just slowly let her head rest against on George's chest, gripping the front of his coat tightly in her numb hands and shutting her eyes. It had to be a nightmare. Lip eventually moved out of the foxhole; he had to check and make sure everyone was okay. 

But Catherine couldn't move, she couldn't force her body to as she gripped onto George's ODs. So they stayed glued to each other. George didn't move as his eyes still watched the dud, and Catherine gripped the front of his coat curled against him. George slowly brushed at Catherine's hair which was a tangled mess as she laid against him. It soothed her, his surprisingly gentle touch on her head.

" Thank you, George," Catherine whispered, " you saved my life." 

" You saved mine." George whispered back. She cuddled into him, praying for it to be a nightmare and for her head to stop spinning. 


	85. when the star goes out

" Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape."

_\- Great Expectations, Charles Dickens_

✰✰✰

All Catherine could think about was Malarkey. He had lost Bill, Joe, Buck and now his best friends Skip and Penkala. She couldn't imagine the pain in his heart. The girls had been friends with Skip and Penkala and they'd been such fun people, Hazel didn't even know how to react to knowing they were dead, they were just gone. Her heart felt heavy when she saw Malarkey and George and Lip and a few others cleaning out the foxhole. Malarkey looked so sad and emotional distressed. She felt horrible just seeing him lose so many people. 

Buck, Joe, Bill, Skip, Penkala. 

5 of his best friends. 

But Hazel couldn't cry, she had to be strong for Malarkey, if he saw people crying it might hurt him even more. They moved back into their old position which overlooked Foy, but everyone was worried for Don Malarkey. 

Everyone. 

Every private through Lieutenant was worried for the man. 

Especially Winters. 

Catherine was close with the two, and she had seen them in their final moments, so, she took it upon herself to put a brave face up for Malarkey. Catherine moved towards Malarkey's foxhole that he was sharing with Babe now. 

When Catherine approached, she saw that Hazel was sitting beside him and talking to him. Hazel's voice was like an angel talking in Malarkey's ear. It was also so genuine and sweet, he was so glad Hazel had visited him.

" When this is over, we'll play darts again, we'll make our own team." she said, as she grabbed his hand in his, and squeezed it tight. 

" Yeah," Malarkey said with a smile looking at the girl.

" I'm gonna go, make sure Shifty finished covering the foxhole." Hazel said softly as Malarkey nodded. She gently reached forward and kissed his cheek before leaning back and smiling at him. He smiled at her with sad eyes.

" See ya, Malark." she said before standing with a tiny smile and leaving the foxhole. When she left, she spotted Catherine standing there. Catherine smiled at her and Hazel glanced back at Malarkey. She looked at Catherine again and nodded. Hazel watched as Catherine slowly sat in next to Malarkey. Hazel sighed to herself and then headed forward.

" Hazel," she heard a voice call and she turned to see it was Lip.

" Hey, Lip." she said, as a tiny smile spread across her face.

" How're you doing?" he asked her when he arrived by her side. 

" Not that great, but I'm putting on a brave face, for Malarkey." she said softly. Lip smiled at her.

" They'll be ok, but I think we're all doing the same for them." Lip said and Hazel nodded with a smile.

" I'll see you around, gotta make sure Shifty's ok." Hazel said and Lip nodded.

" Stay warm." Lip said softly and she nodded.

" You, too." she said softly. Hazel smiled and then headed towards her foxhole again, excited to finally dive under the covers and get some warmth to her finger tips again. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest as she shivered and felt frozen like a popsicle stick. Hazel was trying to quickly, keep out of sight, and get to the foxhole, and finally get a good amount of rest. 

But that's when she heard a whistle, echoing above her head. Hazel picked up her pace, looking up towards the sky as an explosion went off to her left, blasting Hazel to her right and straight onto the cold, hard, ground. Hazel let out a groan as the world shook with what felt like an earthquake around her. 

Everything was shaking and her ears were ringing. Hazel had to get moving, she had to get back towards the foxhole; she couldn't worry Shifty, for his sake. Explosions went off around her, as she pushed up against a tree, the fiery explosions of light not letting up. She pushed off the tree and ran through the explosions, as they fell on top of her and all around her like a nightmare. She kept going, pushing through, crouching when she needed to, and moving when she could to get to a foxhole. 

Hazel then she felt something dig itself into her side as she felt herself propelled to a heap on the ground. Her body flew as if it were a projectile and she landed roughly in the snow, curled in a ball, a whimper escaping her lips. 

Suddenly, there was pain everywhere. 

And then she was crying. 

Her hands immediately shot to her side, as pain swarmed her system, her brain like a blinking bulb, trying to tell her something was wrong. 

Something was wrong. 

Something was _horribly_ wrong. 

What was wrong? 

Hazel's hand pulled back and blood lay on her fingers and her palm, dark, crimson red blood. She let out another loud, pained cry, as the pain became unbearable. She wriggled on her side, in the snow as blood poured out and onto the snow. 

Her hands twitched as she reached for the wind her eyes filled with blurry tears as she couldn't even focus on what she had to do first. She flipped onto her back as explosions rocketed around her, forcing herself to curl into a ball against a tree, and push a hand onto her bleeding wound, praying it would stop bleeding, praying her screams would quiet for a moment, praying that as she lie there now, the world could just stop shaking. 

She prayed that if God was true about his motives that he would save her in this moment. 

Suddenly she was light headed, and she saw spots dancing across her vision, and she felt sick. She couldn't breath either, hacking and coughing, her side screaming at her to do something. 

That she needed to do something. 

She felt herself slowly blacking out, slowly letting the pain that became too much overtake her. 

All that pain, it was to unbearable. 

Hazel stared at the stars, as the explosions, as if they were fireworks, went off like rockets around her. They were so bright, despite the darkness, despite the war. Hazel felt a faint smile on her lips, if this was God's path, then she would accept it.

" Guide me and guard my Lord, lead me to the light." she whispered, her voice barely making it past her lips as the world shook around her entire being. 

Her eyes lids slowly fluttered to a close as the pain became too harsh to even deal with, and she passed out. 

_Hazel had passed out._

✰✰✰

**_ ANNOUNCEMENT _ **

_HI OKAY NO ONE FREAK OUT ON ME! :) i know what you're all thinking, what you're all feeling, but this, this is the pivotal moment in the story where book 2 needed to then start, where the title Ad Astra Per Aspera starts to make sense. since this is the end of book one, book two will be posted up with this update, so if you would like your questions answered, head over to my account and you'll see the book up with 2 or 3 chapters set in place for you all, since i know you all are wondering what happened. book 2 will have an introduction and a cast list as does this book and chapters._

_thank you all for this incredible journey through book one, supporting me, providing comments that made me laugh so hard, voting on chapters, reading my chapters, and giving so much support for a book i genuinely thought no one would really find themselves getting into. but here we are, and i'm posting this second book. i can't thank you all enough, without you, i would've never thought to even continue this story, or even decide to write this far, and come up with this part of the story, or even make a second book and just bother with one big one. but there's much more to hazel's story than just this and a second book needed to be provided for it. a second book was a definite._

_you'll see hazel's struggles, dealing with her wound, her mental battle and her want to get back to easy and you'll see how easy struggles with coping with all the losses, especially hazel's. and finally of course you will see the end of this war in the next book, and what that means for the 3 ladies; hazel, catherine and lizzie and what they will go through in life back in america when operation virago is finally told to the world._

_**i can promise you, you don't want to miss it!!** _

_thank you all so much, and keep being you!! <3_


	86. ad astra per aspera

**_INTRODUCTION_ **

_hazel parker has been wounded in action and is taken to a field hospital behind the lines in bastogne. there she discovers what it is really like for the nurses and medics and doctors and surgeons behind the front lines, fighting their own battle against death. hazel also fights her own mental battle with herself as she relives the moment she was hit almost every night. and she never fails to see the green eyes of the german soldier she killed, or the dead look of private julian when she saved his body. the nights are sleepless and long, but the days are filled with moments that not just change her life but many others._

_hazel feels it was god's plan, to place her in that hospital, and for many reasons. reasons she would've never thought of - and not just for herself, but for the people around her._

_this book will follow hazel through her time in the field hospitals in bastogne and france, and eventually her return to easy company. the story will follow them through mourmelon-le-grande again and then into germany, and then eventually to austria for the end of the war._

_and then after the war? history._

_i hope you please continue you on with hazel's story and the virago's story because it is far from over! we still have discover what happens when the war ends and how the world reacts to knowing women were part of this covert operation, and how certain relationships progress through the end of this horrific war! :)_

_you won't want to miss it!!_

_i can't thank you all enough for joining me on the first half of this journey of operation virago and hazel parker. it has been such a joy to write this story and to fill it with the emotions and the descriptions and the love and joy a story needs. it has been a dream to write this and i've enjoyed every second. thank you all so much for what you've done! you've read it, commented and voted, and it makes my heart warm to just know you've stuck in this far!! i hope you're ready for the next book! when you finish this, the book will be up and posted under my account, please enjoy! :)_


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